The Demon Within
by Shaydrall
Summary: The Kyuubi has been sealed, the village is in ruins, and all that remains of the greatest Hokage ever is a newborn baby, robbed of his future and his family. But Naruto's not alone this time around. In fact, he's got the two best teachers he could ever ask for. Armed with a motherly Uchiha and some very peculiar voices in his head, he's determined to become the greatest Hokage. AU
1. Sealed Fate

**Hey everyone, Shaydrall here again with something completely new. It's a Naruto fic this time (Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto), which has been inspired by a number of things. This story aims to rank up there with the great, not only in word count and reviews, but in heartfelt fulfillment. I write this simply because I feel the need to get it out. It's been on my mind for ages, and I finally pulled together 11k words to make a solid chapter 1. Of course the first few chapters are always set up in a big story, but it leads to something great. All things are worth reading. Please enjoy.**

* * *

It was late evening. Hiruzen Sarutobi stood at the back of the Hokage office, hollow eyes staring out of the window. The village below was half ruins, barely a district untouched by the Kyuubi no Kitsune's wrath. Even through the closed window he could detect the faint dull smells of destruction that loomed over the village. The death toll was staggering, civilians and shinobi alike, though the battle had only spanned a very short amount of time. The village had even lost their greatest treasure, the Yondaime Hokage, Minato Namikaze. And of course...

Hiruzen looked down at the small basket beside the desk. Nestled within a pure white blanket slept the fox's jailor, Naruto. He closed his eyes as the memory of being forced to witness the tragic end of their family from outside Kushina's barrier flashed through his mind. He had never felt so helpless in all of his many years. Naruto stirred slightly, miniscule hands clenching slightly before relaxing once more. Such an innocent child, barely days old and yet already under such a heavy fate.

"Hokage-sama," came a female voice by the door. Hiruzen turned to face the ANBU. "Your guest has arrived."

"Send him in then leave us," said Hiruzen. "Let us be disturbed by no one."

"As you command, Hokage-sama." The woman left the room only to return shortly after leading a man with a great mane of spiky white hair. She bowed to them both then closed the door behind her, leaving them alone.

"Welcome back, Jiraiya," said Hiruzen, smiling at his old apprentice.

"Sensei, I-"

"It has been a tiring past few days," interrupted the Hokage quickly, "and I've rather lost the energy to argue so I'll ask you not to blame yourself for not being here when it happened." Jiraiya looked significantly put out.

"Regardless, I still _am_ sorry," he said. "I see you've been put back in charge?" Hiruzen sighed and sat in the high backed chair heavily.

"Yes, though I had very little choice in the matter. I'm far too old for this but there were no others the Council deemed appropriately capable." He motioned to a seat in front of the desk which Jiraiya took. "Have you heard anything of Tsunade?"

"Since I found out about the attack, no," replied Jiraiya. "I came back as soon as I could, but I've no idea about what she would be doing. Either she hasn't heard of the attack or she is not coming back purposely."

"Well, no matter," said Hiruzen, shaking his head. He only hoped that Tsunade was doing alright, though her support was sorely missed. "I know why you're here." He stood reaching down and gently picking up the basket, placing it on the desk.

"So Kushina really did give birth," said Jiraiya softly, looking down at the boy. "And it's true, what everyone has been saying?" Hiruzen nodded sadly. "Then at least he'll have his Godfather to take care of him." But the older man was shaking his head.

"It's not that simple I'm afraid," he said. "The situation is actually more complicated than you can imagine."

"Minato and Kushina are dead and their son has no relatives to go to so as his Godfather I assume custody," said Jiraiya, somewhat impatiently. "What's so complicated about that?"

"Yes normally that would be the case but there is more to it," said Hiruzen. "Please sit for a moment and I will explain the situation." Jiraiya frowned but sat all the same. His sensei was not an unreasonable man, nor was he one to make rash decisions. He _was_ a Hokage after all. "To start, you should know that Minato sealed the Kyuubi in his son."

"He did _what?_" shouted Jiraiya, jumping to his feet.

"Please, remain calm," said Hiruzen quickly. "Everything I am telling you is higher than an S ranked secret. SS rank, if you would. I've taken steps for us not to be overheard but we should exercise caution nonetheless."

"Sorry, Sensei," said the Sannin. He looked down at the small baby in the basket, asleep on his back, despite all the noise he had made. Even at a few days old Naruto really was his father's son. Minato could sleep like a rock. Performing a few quick hand signs, Jiraiya very lightly placed a finger on the boy's navel causing black markings to appear on his belly. "Hmm, Eight Trigrams..."

"Is there something wrong?" asked Hiruzen as Jiraiya's voice died off. Jiraiya blinked.

"Ah no, everything is fine," he said quickly. Minato's work was superb as always. "Did you see it happen?" Hiruzen nodded. "Please, tell me."

The Hokage took a deep breath as he recounted everything that he witnessed, from the beginning to the end. Jiraiya couldn't help but blink rapidly as he listened to the final moments of his close friends. They were such good people. Life could be incredibly cruel at times.

"And so I would like to tell you of the few steps that have been taken regarding the boy's future," continued Hiruzen, stopping his pacing at last. "Firstly, as you should well know, Minato and Kushina's relationship was kept extremely quiet. Minato explained to me that he did not want Kushina and their unborn child to be exposed to any additional danger while she was in her pregnancy. I believe the plan was to publicly announce their marriage and child after he was born. Having been Hokage for a while, I knew the dangers a Kage's family draws and I supported their decision."

"He told me the same thing," said Jiraiya, nodding. "As far as I know, they interacted about as much as a Hokage and Jounin did in public. Of course privately..." he broke off grinning fondly.

"Yes," said Hiruzen. "Now most importantly for the boy's safety it is imperative that his relation to Minato remain a secret. For this reason his last name will be Uzumaki, as opposed to Namikaze. Additionally, his relation to Kushina will only really be pieced together by those who knew of her and that she was pregnant. The majority of those people were shinobi and a good number of them were lost in the attack. This coupled with the fact that Kushina was more commonly known as the Red Hot-Blooded Habanero to civilians means that knowledge of the Uzumaki's in general is sketchy at best. Of course, this is isn't as critical."

"So tell me why I can't take care of the kid," said Jiraiya.

"I need you protecting him by doing whet you've been doing," said Hiruzen. "As Hokage I need you back out in the field keeping tabs on everything. You know what I'm talking about," he added as Jiraiya opened his mouth to protest. "Plus were you planning on breast feeding him yourself?"

"I'm sure I could find _someone_," countered Jiraiya smoothly, a glint in his eye. Hiruzen coughed lightly.

"Yes well, the other reason is that as Konohagakure's jinchuriki, Naruto cannot grow away from the village," he said. "It's important for him to live here. You're traveling, not to mention the danger of practically everything you do makes it impossible. I'm sorry."

"It's alright, Sensei, I know I could make it work out, but it would be difficult," said Jiraiya. "I want what's best for him as well. So who will take care of him?"

"Currently I have a wet nurse from the orphanage coming in to look after him, but that will be decided tomorrow at the Council meeting." Jiraiya growled.

"You deny me the right to look after my Godson, but think it's alright to leave his fate to them?" he spat. Hiruzen sighed slightly. Jiraiya's dislike of the council was well known to him.

"Unfortunately, because it concerns the Kyuubi, it concerns the village as a whole," said Hiruzen in his most Hokage-like manner. "I will not let what I and Minato have built in this village to crumble, even when I do not like what may result." His expression softened. "I'm sure one of the clans will be happy to adopt him."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that," said Jiraiya darkly. He stood with a small groan. "Though personally, I'd rather have him grow up in an orphanage than under the arrogance of one of the four _noble_ clans. I understand that you may not have much control over what becomes of him, but I need you to promise me that you'll do well by him. I promise to keep him safe from anything outside of the village, but inside the village-"

"I will make sure he's alright," finished Hiruzen. Jiraiya nodded with a smile.

"I trust you Sensei," he said, running a finger lightly along Naruto's cheek. "Grow well, Naruto Uzumaki." As he made his way to the door he turned back to the Hokage. "I doubt I'll be back in Konoha within a year or so. I'm sorry I can't stay around to help rebuild."

"Don't worry, I need you out there right away," said Hiruzen, looking down at the boy once more. "We'll all need our wits about us in the coming months."

* * *

"I still fail to see your point, Danzo," said Choza Akimichi, eyes narrowed.

"Then allow me to speak plainly," said the bandaged man. "We have been handed the opportunity to train a jinchuriki from birth as the sword of the village. Years from now the village would have a warrior unequaled in strength as well as loyalty. Konoha would be unstoppable."

"An intriguing idea, despite it's ridiculousness," said Hiashi Hyuga, shaking his head slowly.

"I don't understand what you mean," said Danzo, keeping his frustration in check.

"I believe what our fellow Council member is saying is that while we _could_ stand to gain something from such a course of action, the risks are far too great to even consider it," said Shibi Aburame, his voice completely even. Danzo couldn't help but scowl at the man.

"I assume that you would want to take responsibility for the boy's training," said Fugaku Uchiha. It was not a question.

"I would be honored to do so."

"I'm sure you would, Danzo, however Naruto Uzumaki should not to be trained as a jinchuriki weapon," said Fugaku, shaking his head. "It is far too dangerous."

"You are just being cowardly, which is surprising from the leader of the Konoha Police Force." Fugaku narrowed his eyes at the insult. "I move to put this to a vote," said Danzo.

"Seconded," said Homura Mitokado.

"Danzo moves to have the Kyuubi's jinchuriki trained into a weapon for the village, starting as soon as is able under his tutelage," said Hiashi, taking his position as speaker of the Council. "All in favor?" Danzo, Homura, and the final Council member, Koharu Utatane each raised a hand. "All not in favor?" He, as well as the other three heads of the Noble clans each raised a hand. "Very well, the movement is denied." Danzo nodded curtly. He couldn't deny a straight vote. Fugaku smirked.

"There is still the matter of the village's security with regard to the boy," said Choza. "How are we to be sure that he won't lose control of his chakra one day and unleash the might of the Kyuubi on the village once more."

"We can always place a chakra lock on his body," suggested Fugaku. Everyone looked at him in confusion.

"I'm sorry, a chakra lock?" repeated Koharu.

"It's not something that you would ever see used on an adult, or even a child, as they aren't able to set in on any sort of developed chakra system; however on a newborn..." The Uchiha head shrugged. "A chakra lock effectively locks away the use of ones chakra coils. They will still develop, however Naruto would be as dangerous as any average civilian. At least for a while. I don't know how long it would last. I've only read about it, never seen one used."

"An acceptable soultion," said Shibi. "I move to vote."

"Seconded," said Choza.

"All in favor?" said Hiashi, looking around. "Six to one. The boy will be placed under a chakra lock." He looked at Fugaku in question.

"I'll take care of it when the meeting is over." Hiashi nodded.

"Well, now that we've established that he is not to be used by the village then it is only a matter of who will take care of him," said Homura.

"Agreed," said Koharu.

"Would any of the four Noble clans be willing to adopt the boy?" asked Hiruzen, speaking for the first time during the whole meeting. Though he didn't vote in anything he was more then privileged to be there and council with them.

"I apologize but I do not wish to expose my family to such a risk," said Shibi. Choza nodded his agreement as well.

"I also will not expose my clan to the danger," said Hiashi. "And before you say anything, Fugaku Uchiha, it would be ill advised for your clan to take responsibility for the boy. We are all aware of the false rumors about the Uchiha's involvement in the catastrophe, however this does not make them any less problematic. If you were to take the boy in it would be seen as nothing short of a scandal." Fugaku hesitated but nodded. He had been about to say pretty much the same thing.

"Then I move we send him to the new orphanage being built," said Koharu. "It is close by and we can have someone keep an eye on him to assess his threat level." Hiashi didn't even wait for a seconded vote.

"All in favor?" All hands went up. "It's unanimous. Naruto Uzumaki will be kept at the orphanage until further notice. Is this acceptable, Hokage-sama?" he asked, looking over at the village leader.

"Yes, though I have one thing to add." Hiruzen looked them all in the eye before beginning. "Henceforth it is a capitol offense to speak of the sealing of the Kyubi to those who either don't know of it, or those from outside this village. I am fully aware that news of the sealing of the fox into Naruto has spread throughout the village, however this will go no further. For all anyone outside the village knows, Konoha defeated the greatest of the tailed beasts. This will buy us some protection at least for the time being while we rebuild and restrengthen our defenses." _And hopefully this will keep the next generation from seeing Naruto as anything other than a boy._

"Hokage this-" but Danzo was cut off immediately.

"Do not overstep yourself, Danzo," said Hiruzen, his voice dangerous. "Regardless of what you may think, I still _am_ Hokage. My words are law, and this is final. Now," he continued, his tone softening quite a bit, "let's move on to reconstruction."

* * *

**Five Years Later**

Hiruzen smiled as he waved goodbye to the academy students. The chunin teachers hurried them off to their next activities, bowing their thanks for the visit. Visiting the academy was something he started early on when he had become the third Hokage and it always made him feel lighter at heart. Even after the Yondamie took over he still visited the students to tell them about the importance of a village's shinobi and teamwork. Now he walked steadily to the large orphanage that housed so many of the young parentless children left behind by the Kyuubi's attack. Of course, his objective wasn't just to see any orphan.

Naruto Uzumaki had been living here among his peers since shortly after the fateful Council meeting. The Hokage did his best to visit when he had time, but mainly received information on the boy's condition through reports from the head of the orphanage. Today was actually the first time he would be visiting the boy in three months. The matron of the orphanage had consistently said that all was well, and this allowed him to worry less about the boy. The law that he enacted making discussion of the Kyuubi a national secret was something that he hoped would prevent influence on the new generation and for the most part it seemed to be working. He knew he wouldn't be able to stop those who lost family in the attack from being resentful or even fearful, but time would mend everything.

"Hokage-sama," said one of the workers at the entrance of the large building, recognizing the Kage robes at once. "What a pleasant surprise. Are you here to visit Yuasa-san?"

"Yes, would you be able to take me to her?" he replied cheerfully.

"Of course, Hokage-sama, please follow me."

The young woman led the Hokage through various hallways which were littered with young children. Upon seeing him they quickly darted into side rooms and watched him through the doors intently. Young though they were, everyone knew who and what the Hokage was. Hiruzen looked around at them all with a smile. He knew that a good number of the children of the orphanage were from shinobi families and would eventually join the academy. Some of the workers at the orphanage were chunin who helped pick out and give basic levels of training to any capable youngsters, preparing them to be sent to the academy when they were old enough. Usually that age was eight, but special cases often bypassed that rule all together.

"Here we are, Hokage-sama," said the woman, stopping in front of a door. She knocked shortly. "Yuasa-san, the Hokage is here to visit you."

"Send him in," came the soft voice behind the door. Hiruzen walked into a moderately sparse room. At one end sat Maiko Yuasa, the matron of Konoha's orphanage. "Hello, Hokage-sama," she said, putting down a folder and standing.

"Maiko, how are you doing?" he asked pleasantly.

"I'm very well, thank you. I'll take it you're here to check up on the Uzumaki child right?" She sighed slightly at his nod. "I hate to say it but he, well, he isn't exactly here at the moment."

"Not here?" repeated Hiruzen blankly, a frown forming on his face. Maiko shrank back slightly at his change in expression.

"Ah, it's nothing bad, Hokage-sama," she said quickly. "Naruto is quite the hyperactive child and often eludes my supervisors, but he always comes back. Judging by how he looks whenever he shows up I'd say that he's off training on his own. He has always shown fascination in the ninja arts." Hiruzen raised an eyebrow. "When he began doing it we were always running spare trying to find him, but as you know we don't exactly have the manpower to provide the kind of oversight that so many children require..."

"I see," he said slowly. "And when was the last time he was seen here?"

"Um," Maiko hesitated knowing this was not going to end up well. But it wasn't like she could lie to her Kage. "Yesterday morning?" Hiruzen sighed but Maiko flinched as if he had shouted at her. Ignoring the woman, he made a casual movement with his hand, and an ANBU member instantly appeared at his side.

"Yes, Hokage-sama?"

"Find Naruto Uzumaki and bring him back here to the orphanage. I would like to see him."

"Hai." The ANBU vanished instantly.

"Please don't be like that Maiko," said Hiruzen, rubbing his temples under his wide hat. He could feel the beginnings of a headache coming on. "Sit with me and tell me a bit about how Naruto has been doing here."

* * *

Somewhere in the village, a five year old boy with startlingly blue eyes and spiky blond hair wandered about. He had never been out this far in the village before and he was completely lost, not to mention scared. The day before he had run out of the orphanage compound to go to the nearby park like he usually did. It was was more fun to play out in the sun there than to stay in that dusty building where the adults all looked at him weird. He didn't know how long he'd have to stay there but he hoped he could leave soon. The orphanage was all he had ever known.

Being a resident of the orphanage, there was only one thing that he had in common with every other child there. He had no parents; no family. Sometimes adults who didn't work at the orphanage would come and look at the children, talking to the matron about them. Once in a while, the visiting adults would adopt a child or two, if they were siblings, and they would leave the orphanage forever. They all knew what that meant. A child who was taken away from the orphanage by an adult got a new family. It was the dream of every child there. However, Naruto knew that it was little more than that for him. As long as he could remember, every time an adult came to the orphanage they always avoided him once they saw him. He could feel their dislike, though it made no sense. He did his best to be a good kid, to stay clean and cheerful; adults always liked those more. Yet the more adults that came the worse things got. They reacted badly to his presence and that soon became adopted by the other children of the orphanage. No one wanted to go near an unwanted child. What if being around him made it that _they_ never got a new family. And so he avoided being there as much as he could. It wasn't like the adults who worked there looked for him. They probably didn't care either. They _were_ adults after all.

Naruto's stomach growled. He was really hungry and hadn't eaten anything since the day before when he took an apple from a stand filled with fruit. From the way the man behind it shouted at him Naruto knew he shouldn't have done it, but still he was hungry. He ran away as fast as he could and fortunately the angry man didn't chase him. Unfortunately he was even more lost than earlier, and it eventually became dark. He ended up falling asleep in an alleyway somewhere. The next day he woke to an unfamiliar scene. Everything was so large and loud in the streets. Even though it was all new and amazing, it still didn't stop him from noticing the wary looks everyone was giving him. Some people even looked like they wanted to hit him. They had the same angry looks the children had who were fighting about something. But he didn't take their food or anything like that so why were they looking at him like that? Hunger making his stomach hurt, surrounded by hateful faces, Naruto was too distracted to notice the cart he walked in front of.

WHAM!

Naruto cried out in pain as he was knocked over. The man pushing the cart tripped at the sudden jerk from the cart, slamming into the it from behind and knocking it clean over. The contents of the cart spilled everywhere, landing on the dirt road in heaps.

"Damn brat!" shouted the man furiously, standing up shakily and looking at Naruto, who was cradling his arm. "What's wrong with-!" Naruto flinched away from him as the man stopped talking, a far greater rage entering his face.

"I- I'm sorry," he stammered quietly, backing away slightly. The angry man took a step forwards, hand raised threateningly.

"Get out of here!" he snapped. "Go back to the orphanage where you belong!"

Naruto quickly ran away, not caring that he was bumping into more people as he ran. Eventually he made his way through an alleyway and crashed headlong into a new person, falling painfully back onto his butt, cradling his arm again. The startled person turned to face him, bending over, arm outstretched. Naruto quickly put his arms over his head, waiting for the hit.

* * *

Mikoto Uchiha had her head in the clouds, as she usually did when she went shopping. Usually, as in this particular situation, her mind was focusing on what she was going to cook for her two sons and her husband. They were all such hard workers. Even Sasuke, who was only five, worked tirelessly to follow in his brother's footsteps. It was admirable to see him so driven. Spacing out about various dishes she unconsciously made her way easily through the throng of the open market. Her days as a ninja had taught her many useful skills, including a healthy amount of multitasking. Trying to decide between two veggies, Mikoto was brought back to reality when a small mass crashed into her side, before rebounding. She didn't need to be the mother of two sons to immediately know it was a child. Turning she bent over, looking at the blond boy. About to ask if he was alright she put out her hand to help him when he jerked his arms in front of himself, clearly afraid. Mikoto froze, frowning at his reaction. Why did he think she was going to hit him? Had he done something wrong? Or was there more to it than that. Suddenly she began noticing other things wrong about the boy. His clothing, a grey t-shirt, tan shorts, and a pair of open-toed shoes, were all ragged looking- certainly old and reused. What parts of his face she could see beneath his arms looked dusty and dirty. Of course, the most glaring issue was one of his arms, which was clearly badly bruised and had a cut on the forearm, blood dripping from it.

"Don't be afraid," said Mikoto quickly, moving her hand back some. "I won't hurt you. Are you alright?" The boy hesitated at first, but after no hit came he slowly lowered his arms, allowing Mikoto to finally see his face. Blond spiky hair topped his head framing the piercingly blue eyes that stared right into her own. She immediately noticed the faint but still distinct whisker-like markings on his cheeks. At once, she recognized him as the village's jinchuriki, Naruto... something. She couldn't remember his family name, though there was a chance she had never heard it. People rarely talked about this boy in terms other than calling him a little devil or monster, the container of the Kyuubi no Kitsune. Didn't he live at the village orphanage? What was he doing all the way in the middle of town?

"S-sorry," came the small voice. "I'm lost."

"Don't worry, dear," said Mikoto with a smile. She reached into her bag and brought out a cloth. "You're hurt, let me help clean you up."

"You don't have to," he said, looking at the cloth. "It'll be better after a little."

"Nonsense, come here," she said, using a more stern tone she often used to get her sons to obey her. Mikoto smiled as Naruto approached her quietly. She took a small water canteen from her handbag and wet the cloth, then gently pressed it against the cut. To his credit, the boy didn't even flinch, though Mikoto knew it must sting even a little bit. After cleaning the cut she set about giving his other arm a small scrub, followed by his face. He just stood there quietly, clearly nervous, but also captivated by the look on her face. Not once did his eyes leave her own. Looking back at the cut on his arm Mikoto suppressed a sound of shock. The cut was gone, with only the shadow of a healed wound left over.

_Incredible,_ she thought. _It must be the Kyuubi._ A low growl brought her out of her thoughts. Again, having two children told her exactly what that was.

"Are you hungry? Do you want some food?" she asked, her smile slipping slightly. She caught it before it fell any more, though it was even more difficult still when the boys eyes lit up at the word food. He nodded quickly. Mikoto stood up, and held out her hand. "I know a good place that's well priced and it isn't far from here. By the way, my name is Mikoto. Mikoto Uchiha. What's your name?" She knew who he was but still, she didn't want him to feel afraid. Naruto stared at her hand for a long time before reaching out and wrapping his fingers around two of her own.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki."

* * *

It took all of Mikoto's self control not to shout when she heard his family name. Uzumaki! There was only one Uzumaki in the entire village when she was growing up: her close friend, Kushina Uzumaki. Naruto looked to be about Sasuke's age and Kushina _was_ pregnant five years ago. When she had heard of Kushina's death she also assumed that her child had died as well; but no. Though there was not a trace of Kushina in Naruto's features, if his name really was Uzumaki then there was no doubt. The Fourth Hokage had sealed the Kyuubi, which once inhabited her friend, into her friend's son. It could only be described as harsh. Then again, the Uzumakis were always said to have exceptional life force. Perhaps Naruto was the _only_ choice that the Fourth had at the time. She shook her head. Once she returned home she had some research to do, but until then...

Mikoto walked steadily through the streets, Naruto holding onto her pointer and middle fingers with all of his own. The streets were much less crowded as they moved further away from the main markets. Those who recognized her nodded their heads in respect. She was the wife of the head of the Uchiha Clan after all. However, all those who looked at her companion did so with obvious wariness and contempt. Mikoto couldn't help but wonder how everyone could recognize him so easily even though he should be spending all of his time in the orphanage. Then she realized that they probably recognized him the same way she did. No one else in the village had those distinct whisker marks. After a minute of walking they came to their destination. A small shop with an open front, partially covered by an awning saying ICHIRAKU RAMEN.

"Teuchi, how are you," said Mikoto warmly, pushing past the cloth and into the wonderful aroma of the ramen shop. "Come sit here, Naruto," she said to the boy, patting the stool next to hers. "There's someone I want you to meet." The jovial man behind the counter grinned broadly.

"Mikoto-san you look lovely as always," he said cheerfully. "I haven't seen you around at all lately, have you been well?"

"Yes, having two boys can be quite a handful at times," she replied. "Speaking of children though, how is your daughter?"

In response to that Teuchi just turned around and shouted, "Ayame! Come down and say hello."

"Coming Otousan!" came a girl's voice from within.

"Teuchi, I've brought you a new customer today," continued Mikoto. "I think this might be the first time he'll have tried ramen. Introduce yourself Naruto," she said to him softly, her voice encouraging.

"H-hi, I'm Naruto Uzumaki," he said after a second. Teuchi glanced at Mikoto so quickly even she barely noticed it.

"Hello, Naruto," said Teuchi. "I'm Teuchi. I run this ramen shop. Ramen is basically noodles in broth. Would you like to try some?" Naruto just nodded rapidly. Mikoto could tell by his deep breaths that he was sincerely enjoying the aroma of the shop.

"I'll have one as well, Teuchi," she said with a smile. "For old times sake."

"Coming right up." As Teuchi worked on the two bowls of ramen a young girl with brown hair walked into kitchen area through a back doorway covered by a cloth.

"Hello, Ayame-chan," said Mikoto to the girl. She was tall enough that her head just cleared the counter, enabling her to see over it.

"Hello, Uchiha-san," she said bowing slightly without banging her head on the counter. She noticed Naruto looking at her. "Hi."

"Hi," he said back to her. They stared at each other until Ayame became self conscious and beat a hasty retreat through the back door, her face red. Teuchi just laughed, shaking his head. After a little while Naruto was staring into a large bowl filled with steaming liquid. He had to get up on his knees to be able to see into it properly. Mikoto kept an eye on him in case he lost his balance as he picked up his chop sticks and gathered some of the noodles. She and Teuchi watched him take his first bite, cautiously apprehensive at what he was going to taste. Naruto's eyes went round like dinner plates and he began moving food to his mouth as fast as his little hands could manage. Mikoto couldn't help but chuckle a little and Teuchi was giving his usual full bellied laugh. Mikoto was only a third of the way through her bowl as Naruto completely emptied his.

"That was the best thing I've ever had, EVER, dattebayo!" he said, completely ecstatic. Mikoto was amazed at what a change had come over the boy. Excited and happy, he was a completely different child than the one that bumped into her not twenty minutes ago. Naruto was so innocent and adorable. It hurt her heart that he had gone through what he had so far in his life. She couldn't help but feel ashamed for being Kushina's close friend and yet letting such a thing happen to her son. A sudden shadow on the ground announced a newcomer, Mikoto turning to find it's owner standing a few feet away from her; an ANBU.

"Is there something wrong?" she asked the ANBU, though she had a feeling she knew already.

"My apologies," he said, "I'm here to return the Uzumaki child to the orphanage. The Hokage is there and wishes to see him." Though she didn't want to see the boy go so quickly, she knew there was nothing she could do about it.

"I'm sorry Naruto, but it looks like you have to go back to the orphanage now," she said to the boy. His face instantly lost the excited spark it had gained.

"Ne, I knew I couldn't stay here forever... as much as I-" he swallowed, cutting off his own words, looking down at his feet.

"Come on, Uzumaki," said the ANBU impatiently. Naruto hopped down off of the stool.

"Arigato, Teuchi-san," he said quickly to the ramen cook. "Arigato Miko-oneesan." He walked to the ANBU and turned to Mikoto, something behind his eyes. Coming to a decision he said quickly, "Ne, Miko-oneesan will you-" but he suddenly collapsed, easily caught by the ANBU who slung him over his shoulder.

"What did you do that for!" snapped Mikoto to the ANBU, his hand still forming the seal for the sleeping genjutsu.

"I'm under orders, Uchiha-san," he said politely. "I've delayed enough. Goodbye." He vanished in a puff of smoke. Mikoto turned back to her unfinished bowl of ramen, annoyed at the ANBU.

"Will I what?" she wondered aloud.

* * *

Naruto slowly opened his eyes. His head was spinning slightly. The last thing he knew was that he was with that strange adult at the most incredible food place ever when an ANBU told him he had to come back to the orphanage. Then...

"Welcome back, Naruto," came a voice to his side. Naruto looked around quickly to find himself face to face with the Hokage.

"Hi, Ojiisan," said Naruto somewhat surprised to see him. Though now that he thought of it, the ANBU did mention the Hokage wanted to see him. He wondered if he had done something wrong. Apart from the orphanage, the only other thing that had remained constant in his life was the occasional visit from the Hokage. He had no idea why the old man came to visit him but at least he didn't treat him any differently than anyone else.

"I heard you were gone since yesterday morning," said the Hokage. "Are you alright?"

"Sorry jiisan, I got lost and couldn't find my way back," Naruto explained. "But today I met a really nice oneesan who got me something called ramen. It was so good!"

"That's wonderful to hear," said Sarutobi. He looked behind Naruto, who turned and realized he was in the Matron's office. "I'll be taking my leave now. Thank you for talking to me about everything."

"Of course, Hokage-sama," said the Matron. Once the Hokage left the Matron smacked the back of his head lightly. "Stop running off or I'll have you confined to a room. The Hokage was displeased."

"Yes, Matron."

* * *

Fugaku Uchiha was strong man. He let his clan with unwavering resolve and fortitude, serving Konoha as one of the seven Council members. He also commanded the Konoha Military Police Force with an iron fist. He was a man firmly in control of everything that passed beneath his gaze. He was a man capable of twisting fate to his calling! His Sharingan prevented anything from slipping past his defenses. Nothing couldn't be predicted! Nothing caught him unawares... which is why he found himself momentarily speechless when his wife said to him over dinner:

"I want to adopt a boy from the orphanage."

It was a rather disarming statement, you had to admit.

Sasuke and Itachi both choked on their dinner. Even Mikoto blushed slightly. She hadn't been intending to say anything of the sort. She just hadn't been able to get Naruto out of her head from earlier. About to bring up the interesting encounter with her husband during their meal, she instead went unconsciously for the kill.

"Mikoto, you shouldn't joke about things like that," said Fugaku, shaking his head as if to clear it. He looked over at his wife who just blushed deeper, not meeting his eyes. _Oh god,_ he thought. _She's serious?_ "Itachi, why don't you go take your brother outside for some evening air, I'm sure it would do you both some good after all the training you've done today." Itachi immediately took the hint.

"Come on Sasuke, let's go outside," he said, pulling his curious brother along. The room was silent for a long while before anyone found their voice.

"Fugaku..."

"Mikoto, don't dance about it and just tell me what you're thinking," her husband said, taking a sip of sake.

"Fine," she said, her face hardening as she looked Fugaku straight in the eye. "I want to adopt Naruto Uzumaki."

"I... see," he said. In a millisecond he had a dinner knife in his hand, poised at Mikoto's throat. "Who are you and what have you done with my wife?"

"Fuga," she pouted putting her hands on her hips. Fugaku sighed and put the knife down.

"Just explain," he said tiredly.

"You are aware that I was at least close, if not best friends with Kushina Uzumaki?" she began, to which her husband nodded. "I was simply not aware of Naruto's family name until now. With the Hokage's law Naruto is very little talked about outside of secrecy. I merely assumed him to be what he is. However today we quite literally ran into each other." Fugaku frowned, though Mikoto could tell he was curious despite himself. "While I was out shopping for dinner, a little blond boy with blue eyes and whisker marks ran into my side in the market. He was lost, injured, and scared. The poor boy thought I was going to hit him when I tried to help him. I managed to gain a little of his trust and took him to get something to eat after finding out that he was starving. It didn't look like he had eaten much before that today. Half way through all of this I introduced myself to him, and he did the same to me." Mikoto sighed. "There is no doubt that he is Kushina's son. Jinchuriki or not, I _won't_ allow him to live such an isolated life."

Fugaku scratched his chin. He had always thought his wife was aware of the Jinchuriki's name, but her lack of reaction to him so far did match up with her explanation. He closed his eyes sadly. "Mikoto, your heart speaks to your kindness, however," he said, now looking directly at her, "I cannot permit the boy to join our clan."

"And why is that?" said Mikoto, her eyes flashing dangerously. Fugaku was still somewhat off balance from his wife's unexpected seriousness about the matter.

"A number of reasons which I will list for you if you will listen patiently." Mikoto bit the inside of her lip and sat straight up, waiting. "To begin with, in the days following the attack the Hokage asked those of us on the Council if any were willing to adopt the boy. None were. No one was willing to place their entire clan at risk for the sake of a single potentially unstable boy. Of course, I had an additional reason." Fugaku stood and paced slightly, portraying his agitation. "You know the injustice our clan has suffered since the attack, with many looking to the Uchihas as responsible for the incident. You know just as well as I do that we were completely uninvolved. However that means little to nothing in the eyes of the village. So I ask you to follow this logic and see what adopting the boy would bring to the clan. I'm sorry but I cannot allow it. Plus, don't you think two children is enough?"

Mikoto was silent, avoiding her husband's eyes. Fugaku watched her warily. She was not stupid. She would have known all this before asking. Yet she still did, and in front of their children no less. Did the Uzumaki child affect her _that_ much?

"I'm sorry Fuga," she said tiredly. She poked at a piece of food on her plate. "Motherly instinct I suppose."

"I'm sorry it has to be this way, but honestly it would be better if you avoided contact with the Jinchuriki all together," Fugaku continued, knowing this was not what she wanted to hear. Still he had to say it. "For the good of the clan, it would be better not to have any type of rumors start. And mark my words, they _will_ start if you continue to involve yourself with the boy."

"I understand, my husband, and I will abide by your decision," said Mikoto frostily, standing up. She left the room at once. Fugaku let out a ragged sigh, sinking back into his seat and downing his sake in one gulp. This was going to be a long night.

* * *

Naruto couldn't sleep. There were a number of usual reasons contributing of course- hyperactive fidgeting, random itches, not to mention the discordant sounds of a hundred odd children sleeping all around him. He sat up and looked around. Though there was almost no light coming in from the windows on the far wall he could see quite easily. He never had any difficulty seeing in the dark. The bunk beds on either side of him were empty, as was the bed directly above his own. At a certain point the other children stopped sleeping next to him and it just stuck, no matter how mixed up anyone got with who slept where. He quietly moved down the room to one of the large windows and pushed it open. The cool night air felt good against his face.

In a fluid movement, Naruto vaulted over the windowsill and out of the window. His left arm held the sill and turned him to that he could catch the it with his right hand, his feet propping his body up as he hung outside the wall. Of course, he didn't drop. He didn't want to risk getting hurt from falling three stories to the ground. Instead of climbing down however, he begin climbing up, moving around the window and up the wall like a spider. It was easy, even in the low light from the moon and stars above. The building that they all slept in was fairly old, and the walls had many footholds. Within a minute Naruto was on the roof, leaning on his back and looking up at the starry sky. Of course the beauty of the night was lost to him at this particular time.

He could still see the eyes of that strange woman who had cleaned his face earlier that day. They were unlike any other eyes that looked at him before. But what exactly they held was something he couldn't figure out. Naruto blushed as he remembered what he had almost blurted out before he suddenly woke up next to the Hokage. He had almost asked this stranger to be his mother. As if something like that would ever happen. It was a strange thought... though he couldn't help but blurt it out, it had come on so strongly. He hoped he could visit that wonderful shop again with the nice man and the ramen. Thinking about the woman's gentle eyes and the delicious smell from that shop, Naruto drifted to sleep beneath the stars.

* * *

**Two years later**

Naruto ran lightly through the streets, ignoring the shouts of those he disturbed. He was making his was through a well known route that he had taken time and time again from the apartments to his favorite place to eat. Within minutes the familiar awning came into view. He could see one person sitting behind it.

"Teuchi-san!" he called, pushing aside the cloth and hopping onto the stool next to the stranger.

"Ah, Naruto-kun how are you?" said Teuchi with a smile. He was already in the process of making him a bowl.

"Same as I was this morning, Teuchi-san," said Naruto. "I got my month's allowance today so I came straight here."

"You know I'm always glad to have you Naruto-kun, but you need to be careful with spending your money," said the man. Ever since Naruto had moved out of the orphanage and started living in the housing apartments he had spent more and more time wandering around the village. According to the boy he was looked after by the landlady who ran his particular building, though the way he described her was less than encouraging to a father with a child of his own. Who's decision had it been to let a six year old boy live practically on his own anyway? That was over a year ago now, but still...

"I know," said Naruto, eyes focused on the bowl that was set in front of him. "Itadakimasu!" He proceeded to devour the meal. In between bites he asked, "Ne, Teuchi-san, the Lady said I have to get something new to wear. Do you know where I can buy some new clothes?" Admittedly, his clothes were quite threadbare.

"I know there are some clothing shops closer to he heart of the village, though they might be a bit expensive for what you'd need. Ask around for a store that sells used things," he suggested, scratching his chin. "It'll be more comfortable and certainly cheaper."

"Arigato," said the boy, downing the rest of the ramen. He put a couple coins on the table and jumped down from the stool. "See ya tomorrow!" he called as he sped off down the road.

"Surprised?" Teuchi said to the person still sitting at the counter. A hood was pulled back to reveal a familiar face. Mikoto watched as the boys back rapidly grew smaller until he turned a corner and vanished from view. "He's certainly a different boy than he was when you first brought him here. My ramen is quite the amazing thing."

"You've been improving it for him right?" asked Mikoto, turning back to the man. Teuchi nodded.

"Yes considering how frequently he comes here I'm not really sure if he eats _anywhere_ else," he said, shaking his head.

"Which is exactly why I give you a little extra to add a few more healthy ingredients to his food," said Mikoto smugly. "I don't want him suffering from malnutrition. I may be forbidden from going near the boy but that doesn't mean I can't help him out from afar. I appreciate all the info you give me about him," she added gratefully. "At first I didn't think I'd really see him again."

"Yes he visits often enough that Ayame has become quite fond of him, though she'll deny it completely," he said with a laugh, which was shortly turned into a cough as a small fist pounded into his back.

"Tousan!" Ayame shouted, red faced. Having started working up front with her father, Ayame had started to become much more confident dealing with people in a less than overly polite manor. And in her father's case, well... "You know, Mikoto-san," added the girl to their guest, "Naruto-kun's been trying to get into the academy. He says he's going to become Hokage!" Mikoto smiled at that. It was rare for anyone without a large amount of special influence to receive the attention needed to hone the skills to attain such a position. Unless you were a prodigy-genius. Seeing as how he wasn't living at the orphanage anymore, he didn't even have _their_ basic training to fall back on. Of course, getting into the academy was a different matter entirely. All one needed to enter the academy was pass a simple chakra control test: holding a leaf to your forehead for ten seconds with pure chakra. If you could manage that then you could be trained, simple as that. No village was so protected or isolated that they would reject a potential new ninja, regardless of how bad they might be.

"Have you seen him practice with the leaf?" she asked Ayame, leaning onto the counter.

"Yeah, but he's terrible at it," she said in a whisper, gripping the edge of the counter and leaning in as well. "The longest he can do it for is one second, though that might just be sweat." Mikoto sweatdropped. That was pretty abysmal. As Kushina's son and more importantly and Uzumaki, Naruto certainly had the capacity to become a shinobi. Mikoto couldn't help but wonder why he would be so bad at the most simple of chakra controlling tasks. Taking her time, she slowly ate her raman as she thought it over, eventually spacing out.

"Ah, Mikoto-san!" said Teuchi quickly, pointing down the road. Naruto was returning from where he disappeared before, though there was no sign of the energy he had shown earlier. He was walking, for one, and he was watching his feet as he got closer. Mikoto quickly put up her hood. "Hey Naruto-kun!" called Teuchi. Naruto looked up, his cheery expression back on his face instantly.

"Hey again Teuchi-san."

"What happened, are you done already?" asked Teuchi. "That was pretty quick." Naruto just scratched the back of his head with a big smile.

"Yeah I like running everywhere and I didn't see anything I liked," he said quickly. "I'll try again another time. Thanks for the help before, I'll see you tomorrow." He dashed off back in the direction of the apartments. Mikoto watched him go.

"Looks like something happened," she said with a frown.

"Don't worry, Mikoto-san," said Teuchi. "Same to you Ayame," he added, rubbing his daughter's head. She hadn't said a word but just looked after Naruto worriedly. "I'm sure he can handle whatever goes on. He's a tough kid. Now, would you like me to wrap that up for you Mikoto-san?"

* * *

Naruto slowed his pace as soon as Ichiraku was out of sight. He wished he could talk to them about the things that happened, but he didn't want to risk them seeing him as a nuisance. For whatever reason, Teuchi-san and Ayame-chan were nice to him. He wouldn't risk losing that for anything.

In actuality when he arrived at the clothing shops he was quickly chased away by the owners. They refused to sell to a little demon like him. It wasn't that it had never happened to him before. Most food stores and other eating places did that too. It still didn't make sense why everyone treated him like that but he could only imagine that he must have done something really bad when he was younger and just couldn't remember. Why else would people treat him the way they did? Who knows what he would do if he didn't have Ichiraku Ramen to eat at.

As he made it back to the apartments he heard a loud crash from deep within the place. Going to investigate he found the landlady shouting at someone recognized as one of the building cleaning staff. From the looks of things the man had broken something.

"Dammit that shit costs money!"

"I'm so sorry, Kimiko-san, I'll be more careful I promise!" She just knocked him over with a heavy cuff to the side of his head.

"I don't even know why I keep you here," she growled. "Clean this crap up then go buy a replacement. The money is coming straight out of your salary." The man quickly bent to gather the large mess of what looked like broken pottery. Naruto did his best to make it to the stairs but-

"Naruto! Don't try to sneak by me!" Naruto winced and froze as the landlady descended upon him. "What are you doing still wearing those rags," she shot, picking at his shirt. "I told you that I won't be blamed for you looking like you're homeless. You make me look bad when you go around like that."

"I'm sorry Kimiko-san, the owners-"

"I don't care what your excuse is," she said loudly, forcing him back to the front door. "Go get something new to wear and don't come back till you do!" She slammed the door closed behind him. Naruto scowled and kicked the door before bolting down the road. There was no way he would be able to get anything from one of those stores today. He'd just have to climb in his apartment through the window again. After some walking he was at another of his usual spots: the tree swing outside the academy. Spotting a leaf at his feet he quickly snatched it up and put it to his forehead, crossing his eyes upward. It stuck for only a moment before falling to the ground, the same as every other time he had done it. It was weird. He'd seen other people do it like it was nothing, so why couldn't he. What was he missing? When he tried asking people before they just chased him off like usual. So now he just sat and thought, occasionally putting the leaf to his forehead only to watch it fall back down.

* * *

Oblivious to all around him, the blond boy on the swing didn't notice the young girl with raven hair and pure white eyes standing nearby, watching him try to stick a leaf to his forehead without using any chakra.

_Doesn't he know he's doing it wrong?_

"Ano..."

Felling nervous she didn't speak that loudly. Certainly not loud enough to be heard by an oblivious boy. She moved closer to him, her sharp eyes picking up his extremely worn out clothing. Why did he go out like that?

"Why won't you stick! Stupid leaf!" shouted the boy, jumping up and kicking the tree fiercely. As if to spite him, the tree rained leaved down on him lazily. It was then that the boy noticed the girl. "Oh, hi." She was quite close to him now. Only about five feet away. They just stared at each other. One shy, one confused. Unsure of what to do, the girl bent over and picked up a leaf, putting it to her forehead and concentrating her chakra lightly. The leaf stuck like glue.

"Like this," she said, pushing her bangs up so he could see better. The boy looked at the leaf speechless.

"Wow how did you do that so easily!" he said curious, coming closer to her. The girl was getting nervous from his closeness. No one outside her family had ever gotten this close to her before. He had startlingly blue eyes and curious marks on his face that looked like whiskers.

"Ano, you have to use chakra," she said quietly. The boy just looked at her in confusion.

"I've heard that word before," he said, scratching his chin. "What's chakra?" This time it was the girl who was looking confused. Who doesn't know what chakra is.

"It's um..." The girl didn't really know how to explain it to someone who didn't know what she was talking about. Struck with an idea she glanced at his hands, resting at his side. Biting the inside of her lip she grabbed one of the boy's hands. "This is chakra," she said before pushing some of her own into him. He stared at his hand, eyes widening again.

"Weird, it feels weird," said the boy, though he didn't pull his hand away. Instead he grabbed the girls hands tightly. "Again, please?" The girl just blushed but complied, forcing another wave of chakra into the boy's body.

"You've never felt this before?" she asked. He just shook his head. "But you have so much. I can see it," she said, pulling her hands from his. She pointed at his navel. "Right there." The boy put a hand on his belly, closing his eyes.

"I... it's strange, I feel like... almost..." The boy's face scrunched in concentration. He could still remember the feeling of the 'chakra' the girl had pushed through his body. It was there, right where his hand was... he clenched his teeth in frustration. The girl felt the change at once. She jumped back quickly, staring at the boy who was suddenly bursting with chakra. It almost felt like a great rush of wind on her face. The leaves around them were blown away in every direction. Dust whipped up in the air.

"Hinata-sama!" came a shout at her back. Two shinobi appeared in front of her, kunais out, ready to defend her. The door to the academy burst open and a number of people ran out.

"This is amazing!" shouted the boy, oblivious to it all. He grinned and willed the force inside of him to grow. The force seemed to get even more intense. "Hey, hey!" he shouted to the girl. She stared at the boy through her defenders. "Thank-" The chakra suddenly cut off, just as quickly as his voice. A person had appeared at his back and delivered a swift incapacitating chop to the neck. A person wearing Kage robes. The boy fell to his knees, already unconscious. An ANBU appeared at his side instantly.

"Take Naruto here to the hospital, I'd like them to check on his chakra coils," he said, gently handing the boy to the ANBU. "Stay with him until he wakes."

"Yes Hokage-sama," said the female voice. The ANBU vanished.

"Hokage-sama!" a number of people gathered around him, confused as to what just happened, as well as why he was there.

"Are you alright, Miss Hyuga?" Hiruzen asked Hinata kindly, walking over to her. Hinata blushed deeply and looked at her feet.

"Y-yes, Hokage-sama," she managed, before her throat closed from nervousness. It was nerve wracking enough when her father talked to her, but the Hokage was the leader of the entire _village_! Hiruzen patter her head.

"That's good," he said. "Iruka!" he called, to the group of people who had come out of the academy.

"Yes Hokage?" said the young man, coming over.

"I've got another new student for you, so keep an eye on him."

"Uh, of course, Hokage-sama," he said, still confused.

"Now," he said, walking off in the direction of the hospital, "I could really use some tea..."

* * *

**A/N:** Chapter 1 Complete! Hooray! So far it's fairly normal with some deviations to make it more fun. Added that little bit with Hinata b/c I've come to find her soooo cute. And she was 7 here. Awwwwwww =D

I'm trying to find a good path with this and that will come easily with your feedback. Please review. Writing The Infinity League has taught me the unlimited value of my reader's input. I truly value it all. So please help me out. I appreciate any and all discussion on this. And no flames, seriously.

This story will be written, and it will be freakin awesome. Help me make it that way. Thanks everyone.

/ So here's just some extra info on what I did above.

- Yes I know, I KNOW, that Jiraiya is supposed to get the key to the seal so he would know about the kyuubi being sealed in Naruto. Just pretend he gets it twenty minutes after he meets with the Hokage if it makes you feel better.

- Also sometimes people will say things that make you think, wait a second, person X should already know the answer to that question why it is being asked! Every time that happens it's done for an intellectual reason that you probably just aren't thinking of at that moment. If you're confused PM me about it. Don't point it out in a review saying I'm wrong, cuz then I'll have to publicly tell everyone why _you_ are wrong. Anyway...

- The council I have made up of the heads of the 4 noble clans (Aburame, Akimichi, Uchiha, and Hyuga) as well as the two old people and Danzo. That makes 7. Hiashi heads the council as the speaker.

- I honestly did my best trying to explain that dumb ass law that the Hokage comes up with and how it could easily just not work (which it did and didn't). Pretty much it worked exactly the way the show needed it to, which was impossible lol

- It makes sense that you would need to pass a small chakra test to get into the academy right

- Also, after the first review I felt the need to add this about the chakra lock. It really is insignificant to everything. They just put it there as a safety measure but the moment Naruto started using chakra the thing snapped like a twig. He will NOT have stunted growth like Lee. Oh god nooo. In fact he will have accelerated growth because he's freaking Naruto.

That's it really. If you're curious about anything else in the world I've started to paint feel free to ask me in a review or PM. Don't forget to check out The Infinity League if you like Pokemon. It's cool xD


	2. There Are People in My Head

At the hospital, Hiruzen looked down at Naruto's unconscious form with a slight frown as he listened to the doctor give his results of the test with one ear.

"I'm confident his physical condition will be well enough," interrupted the Hokage, glancing back at the doctor. "What of his chakra system."

"Ah, well as you requested we ran a thorough test on his entire chakra circulatory system as well as his chakra coils. Naruto's chakra coils are, well..." the doctor broke off, thinking about how to phrase his results. "I wouldn't call them developed per say, but they are quite strong for a person in general, especially for a child. He has in incredible resilience. Of course, I'm sure that's-" he broke off at once at a glare from the Hokage. The doctor gulped audibly. "A-anyway, apart from that his chakra network is perfectly healthy. His chakra circulatory system is a little frazzled, I guess would be the best way to put it. My guess is that he hadn't used chakra for quite a while then really pushed it out. I'd imagine he was having quite the high from it all. There are no ill effects though. He'll be fine by tomorrow, he just needs rest. He'll likely be tired on and off for the next few days as well. Also he could really wake up at any time, so if he does please tell him to remain in bed and rest."

"I will. Thank you very much Doctor, you may go," said Hiruzen, turning back to Naruto.

"Of course, Hokage-sama." As the door slid shut behind the man, Hiruzen couldn't help but grin. He hadn't liked the Council's decision to try to seal the boy's chakra, however as far as he could tell the 'chakra lock' was completely gone. Who knew, perhaps it may have helped him in some way. He thought back to the way the shy Hyuga girl had tried to help him with the chakra control technique. He wasn't sure what exactly transpired between the two, but it blew the lock to pieces. He didn't want the girl's guards attacking Naruto though which is why he immediately jumped in. Looking at the clock on the wall, Hiruzen took a seat in the nearby chair meant for visitors. There was one last thing he wanted to talk to Naruto about and there was no harm in waiting for him to wake up. At least, not when there was a mountain of paperwork waiting for him on his desk.

* * *

Kurama was less than pleased. Of course overall he had been sealed for decades longer than with just his new host, but at least the other two hosts hadn't been freakin _babies_. Being forced to be aware of his host being breastfed and crying all the time was enough to make any tailed beast want to commit suicide. He closed his eyes, finding his own thoughts almost humorous. He never used to think like this, but after being sealed within two women with distinct personalities, especially the previous one, their human mannerisms had somewhat worn off on him. Though, this wasn't really what was bothering him at the moment.

He let out a long breath, the large stream of air disturbing the foot deep water that covered the floor in every direction. Yet another bothersome thing he had to deal with. Though the water itself was really just there for show. The moment a submerged piece of his body left the water it was dry as if it had never been there. He remembered fleetingly wondering years ago if he could possibly drown himself in the foot deep water and escape the boredom of it all, but with a body as massive as his own there was no helping it.

Opening his eyes he looked at the source of his frustration. Standing a little ways beyond the cage were two humans he had ended up killing as he tried and failed to kill the newborn who was to become his new host: the Fourth Hokage and his mate, the woman who had been his old host. They just stood there, clearly confused, looking around mainly at him and each other.

"You know," he said in a drawl worthy of any human, "this place sucked enough _without_ having to look at either of you. Get out of here would you? Or come in here with me and we can have some fun..." he added with a toothy smile, intent deadly obvious.

"What..." said the woman, looking at Kurama in disbelief. "What's going on here? Minato?" She quickly turned to the man at her side, arm reaching out hesitantly as if afraid to find out he was an illusion. Minato quickly grabbed her hand and pulled her into a rough embrace, holding her for all she was worth.

"Kushina, I honestly have no idea what's going on," he said, stroking her hair, "but I'm glad I got to see you again."

"Yeah," she said, her own hands gripping his clothing tightly. Kurama just let out another huff at which Kushina rounded on him. "Hey! Can't you see where trying to have a moment here? I mean seriously you killed us!"

"Clearly not as well as I could have hoped," said Kurama, eyes fixing on her own.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves here," said Minato, putting a hand on his wife's shoulder to calm her. He turned to Kurama. "I see you're nicely sealed, glad to see it worked."

"Yes, thanks to you I've endured another seven and something years of being trapped," he said, wishing dearly that he could attack the man.

"Seven years?" repeated Kushina blankly. "This is so confusing."

"Maybe I can explain a bit," said Minato, pacing around the area a bit and looking around. "First of all, after the Kyuubi stabbed through us both I took every last bit of chakra we had remaining and sealed it in our son along with him," he said pointing at Kurama. "I intended to create small imprints of ourselves within Naruto so that if something ever happened to the seal or him we could essentially fix it, maybe even meet with him for a moment in his mind. So basically I intended for us to be fail safes."

"So we really..." said Kushina, her voice dying off. Minato nodded sadly.

"Yes we certainly died."

"You sure talk a lot for a dead person," said Kurama, resting his head on his paws and closing his eyes again. It wasn't like there was anything he could do. Still he kept his ears open. After all this _was_ the most interesting thing that had happened to him since he got to stretch his legs a bit in Konoha.

"But you said that we were only supposed to last for a moment?" asked Kushina frowning.

"Well, we could probably stay dormant as long as necessary but once we manifested like this it would consume the chakra that makes us up and we would disappear after a short amount of time," he said with a nod. "However, I would think that we would feel our time limit so to speak. We should be able to feel our chakra diminishing."

"I don't feel a thing," said Kushina, looking at her body. In the back of her mind she registered that she was wearing exactly what she wore the night of the attack. Minato was the same, though both of them were missing the bloodstains. He crossed his arms.

"Yes, neither do I," he said. Though his voice was even, Kuchina knew him well enough to tell he was completely baffled.

"Then that would mean we're somehow getting chakra from somewhere else and it's keeping us here," she said, wrapping a strand of red hair around a finger absently.

"Hmm, a good theory," said Minato. "Considering that we are on the other side the cage as he is," he motioned to Kurama, "I would have to say that we are being supported by our son. Also, I'd hazard a guess that we exist within his mind, as opposed to being connected to the seal like I originally thought, though I can't be sure."

"I want to meet him," said Kushina, gripping her arm fiercely. "I want to hold him so badly."

"Me too," said Minato with a smile, putting a hand to his wife's cheek. "I promise we will. Though we should be very careful before we openly expose ourselves to him. It would be best to understand what's happened in his life before we insert ourselves so suddenly." Kushina glared at him, her eyes narrow.

"Are you serious?"

"Look, I don't know how we are existing as we are, but I don't want to do anything too rash until we have a better hold on what's going on," said Minato reasonably. "We don't want to startle him. I'd like to see how he's grown too." He looked down at his body before forming a hand seal. There was a poof of smoke which quickly dispersed to reveal a Minato who looked no older than ten, wearing a regular t-shirt and shorts. After a second he reformed the seal and there was another poof, his hair changing from its yellow blond to pure white. Satisfied he nodded.

"What are you doing!" said Kushina in alarm. "I thought you said that we're made up of chakra, what if using some makes it all start to go away!" She was afraid. No, she was more than afraid. In her final moments she had been thinking of her love for her son, and his safety, but now she had Minato back and she couldn't bear to lose him again. It was still so hard to wrap her head around the notion that they were both just made up of chakra. She _felt_ real.

"Don't worry, Kushina," he said, his voice higher pitched, making her recall a great number of memories from the academy. "I needed to know what would happen if one of us tried to use chakra here. It appears that it did take something, but not as much as I thought. Just as well, what little I used has been replenished already. Try it." Kushina looked wary, but she trusted him. Forming the hand seal she changed into a ten year old version of herself, wearing what she normally wore to the academy.

"You're just as cute as when I first met you," said Minato with a grin. Kushina blushed slightly.

"Please, you're not trapped in the cage so just take this somewhere else," said Kurama, unable to stay quiet any longer. "Like I said, it's bad enough I have to deal with _him_," he added, rolling his eyes to indicate his jailor. Kushina smirked in spite of herself. She wondered it the Kyuubi had always been like this.

"Let's go, Minato," she said, taking his hand. "We should try to explore this place a bit. With any luck there's somewhere with some sky."

The two walked off, sloshing through the water calmly as they made their way into the looming darkness. Kurama watched them go with one eye until he could see them no more. He closed his eye and let out a long breath.

* * *

Naruto slowly opened his eyes. He had had such a weird dream but it was so fuzzy he could barely remember any of it other than a mixture of voices and the splash of water. He found himself staring up at a pure white ceiling. He was under an equally white sheet on a bed. Where was this?

"Ah, you're awake," said a familiar voice. Naruto looked around quickly to find the Hokage sitting nearby, smiling at him.

"Hokage-jiisan," he said in surprise, still feeling tired. Why did this man always seem to turn up at the time he least expected it. He tried to sit up. "What happened? I was talking to a girl I just met outside the academy about chakra and then..." He shook his head groggily. Hiruzen walked over.

"You suddenly released a large amount of chakra," he explained. "While I know it was a new feeling for you, what you did was dangerous and you shouldn't do it again until after you've had proper training."

"Training?" repeated Naruto, confused.

"At the academy," said Hiruzen with a smile. "You'll be starting there as a student in a couple of days."

"What?" said Naruto in disbelief. "But I never did the leaf test!"

"The leaf test is just to see if a person is capable of molding chakra," said Hiruzen, looking out of the window. "If you can mold chakra, you have the potential to become a ninja. But I know from earlier that you can use chakra so it's not important. What _is_ important, however, is that you practice controlling your chakra. Power is nothing without control. You would do well to remember that."

"Yes Hokage-jiisan," said Naruto with a nod. He was super excited now, he couldn't wait to tell Teuchi-san and Ayame-chan. "By the way, where am I?" The hokage looked at him curiously.

"This is the hospital, Naruto," he said. "If you're badly sick and need to see a doctor right away or for anything that's an emergency you come here. The doctors are here to help everyone get better."

"Oh really? I didn't know there was a place like that," Naruto replied honestly. "I'm always better after sleeping if I'm hurt."

"Well make sure you come here if you're badly injured alright?" said Hiruzen sternly. "You're going to be training to become a ninja and that's the most dangerous job there is. Everyone gets hurt eventually."

"Alright, I'll be careful," said Naruto with a nod. He started to get up but a hand held him in place.

"The doctors say that you have to rest here until tomorrow," said Hiruzen, shaking his head. "When you are in the hospital," he continued quickly, preventing the boy from saying anything back, "you must listen to the doctors. They are the ones in charge in this place. Your doctor wants you to stay here until tomorrow. I don't want to hear about you running off."

"Right," said Naruto glumly. He could tell this was going to be a boring remainder of the day. As the Hokage left he put his head back to the pillow, wondering what he was going to do to pass the time. However the soft pillow was making him sleepy, and he had slipped back into unconsciousness before he knew it.

* * *

Naruto left the hospital close to noon the next day. He had never slept so much at once in his life and he felt completely energized. His clothing was in a neat pile on the chair, and there was even a small tray of food next to it on a table, thought the food wasn't anything like what Teuchi could make.

"Listen up kid," said the doctor as he was about to head out. "Don't push your chakra like that until you learn techniques to use it. You'll only end up hurting yourself. Are we clear?" Naruto nodded. "Good, now get out of here."

The first thing he did was make his way back to the apartment complex where he lived. The lady was certainly to be mad at him for not coming back last night, so he should tell her where he was. Just as he thought would happen, after three steps into the building her head shot out of her door, anger etched on her face.

"Obnoxious brat, where the hell were you last night? Don't you know how much trouble you've been causing me?"

"I'm sorry Kimiko-san, I was at the hospital," said Naruto quickly before she cut him off.

"The hospital? And what landed you there? Actually," she said as he opened his mouth to explain, "never mind. I doubt it was something good you did. Now what did I tell you about getting new clothing!" Naruto lowered his head.

"I tried to tell you Kimiko-san, the shops won't let me buy anything," said Naruto loudly. She cuffed him much like the man the day before.

"Don't talk back, and don't give me shit like that," she said with a scowl. "Shops exist to sell stuff, people exist to buy them. That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard." She turned on her heels and walked back to her rooms. "If you won't get something new to wear then I'm tossing you out. I don't let vagabonds live in my building." She shut her door loudly. Naruto grumbled at annoying adults who didn't listen as he made his way up to his apartment. He knew she wouldn't throw him out. She made similar threats to all of her tenants who got on her nerves and had been doing it ever since he arrived at the place more than a year ago. Still that didn't mean she wouldn't tan his hide the next time he made her mad. Digging around in his pocket he brought out his keys and entered his home.

Though it was small, it was really the only place he could escape from the bitter and aggressive looks he got wherever he went in the village, and for that he loved his home. The front room was fairly empty. His bed was across from the door and there was a small cabinet as a bed side table, though nothing was on it. There was also a dresser that he kept his clothing in. The door in the back left of the room led to a small hallway that led to the dining room where one wall served as the kitchen. The final room was the bathroom which fell in between the other two rooms, the door in the hallway as well. It was nice. A fair bit nicer than some of the other ones he had seen, but not special in the slightest. Of course, none of that mattered to him.

About to walk to the back room to get a snack he stepped on something and looked down. An empty instant ramen cup was crushed beneath his foot. Looking around he noticed that most of the floor was covered by random stuff. He should really clean up. After a few minutes of picking up garbage he made his way to the back room, opening the fridge and frowning at what he found. Pretty much nothing.

"Guess I'll have to eat at Ichiraku again," he said with a smile. At any rate, it was near the usual time he went to get his lunch. He wanted to tell Teuchi the great news too. And when he was done eating he would give the clothing stores another try.

Not wanting to walk through the building again, he opened the window and vaulted out. To any sane person this would have looked like a child committing suicide, however Naruto had done this drop hundreds of times. He was fortunate he had no fear of heights. His hand grabbed on a clothes line, slowing his descent greatly as it stretched downwards. Still thirty feet above the ground the line suddenly snapped, causing him to swing sideways.

"Darn, the lady's gonna kill me again," he grimaced, his body rushing back towards the building. He kicked off of a nearby chimney to alter his trajectory, making him swing parallel to the large apartment building. Once he was close enough he ran sideways on the wall, still using the broken clothes line to keep him up. After a few seconds the building came to an end and he launched himself forwards into one of the large bushy trees that littered the area. Fortunately he only scratched himself a little bit as he landed in the thick boughs. Of course his t-shirt was less than lucky, torn straight up the middle from the bottom to make it into a flapping jacket. Alright, the lady had a point, he really _did_ need new stuff. Careful not to rip any other pieces of clothing, Naruto quickly made it down to the street and dashed off in the direction of Ichiraku Ramen, the small stinging from his small cuts and scrapes that he got from the tree vanishing withing a minute. As he left the apartment building behind he could faintly hear angry screaming. It sounded like his neighbor wasn't too happy about finding her clothes line broken... again.

A few minutes later and the blond boy skidded to a halt in front of Ichiraku's.

"Naruto!" said Teuchi cheerfully. "Ayame and I missed you for dinner last night. Don't tell me you've been eating somewhere else."

"No way Teuchi-san," said Naruto, grabbing is regular seat. As usual the one on the far left was taken by a stranger.

"Naruto-kun what happened to your shirt?" asked Ayame, pointing at his chest. He just laughed, scratching the back of his head. "It tore on a tree branch a little while ago. Anyway, I was in the hospital yesterday. I just got out this morning." At the word hospital the stranger choked slightly, then cleared her throat. Naruto looked at the woman curiously, though he couldn't see her face beneath her hood. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," she said quietly, continuing her meal.

"Anyway, Naruto-kun, why were you in the hospital? Are you alright?" asked Teuchi, glancing at his other customer before leaning on the counter and looking straight at Naruto. Ayame was also watching from her position, though she continued to clean bowls absently.

"I'm fine, Teuchi-san." Teuchi nodded once before reaching back and grabbing Naruto's already prepared ramen and put it on the table in front of him.

"So what happened?" he asked.

"After I left here yesterday I was trying the leaf sticking thing and I couldn't get it to work no matter how many times I tried," he started, putting a hand to his forehead to help explain. "I walked to the academy and kept trying it. Then this white eyed girl came over and picked up a leaf and did it perfectly. She said I wasn't using chakra."

"Hang on," said the woman, dropping her chopsticks. "Are you saying that you've been trying to do the leaf exercise without using chakra?" Naruto blushed, and looked away.

"I didn't know, no one told me," he said defensively. At this the woman just burst out laughing, Teuchi saving his bowl from being knocked to the floor as she pounded the counter in hilarity. "H-hey it's not funny!" shouted Naruto, feeling even more embarrassed. But the woman continued to laugh, tossing her head back hard enough that her hood slid down, revealing a somewhat familiar face.

"Mikoto?" said Naruto softly. He blinked in confusion. How did he know her name. It was almost like his mind just seemed to whisper it. Teuchi wrapped Naruto's head lightly with his knuckles.

"That's Mikoto-_san_, Naruto-kun," he corrected. Mikoto just waved it off.

"That's alright, Teuchi-san. Do you remember me, Naruto-kun?" He knew here from somewhere, that much was certain, but he couldn't remember from when. Confused, Naruto shook his head. "Then how did you know my name?" said Mikoto blankly. Naruto looked around nervously. Teuchi was pointing to the ramen repeatedly then to Mikoto. Suddenly he remembered.

"Wait you're the one who brought me here first!" he exclaimed. Mikoto nodded happily. "That was ages ago!"

"That's right," she said. "It was two years ago. You've grown a lot since then Naruto-kun." He looked into her face, remembering her kind eyes, and the way they had met. It really was a long time ago... suddenly he blushed hard, looking at his feet. This was the woman he almost asked to be his mother after meeting her mere minutes earlier. Mikoto just thought he was reacting to what she had just said.

"Aw you don't have to be embarrassed," she said. "Don't forget, you have a meal to eat." Reminded of his ramen and happy to distract himself from his thoughts, Naruto quickly dug in. Once he took the first bite he realized exactly how hungry he was, polishing off the bowl in no time at all. "Anyway finish your story," she added as he put his chopsticks down.

"Right, so the girl told me that I needed to use chakra but I didn't really know what to do so she took my hand and pushed chakra into me! It was really weird but it felt alright and so I tried to use it but it felt stuck so I pushed really hard and suddenly it just burst out, dattebayo!" he finished, now on his knees with his arms wide in the air. Ayame was watching him wide eyed. "Then I woke up in the hospital with the Hokage."

"You saw the Hokage?" asked the girl eagerly, stopping her cleaning for the first time. Naruto nodded.

"Yeah he visits me sometimes," he explained, as if it were no big deal. "He's pretty nice, but he can be really strict. Anyway he said that shouldn't try to do that again until I learn how to control it and then he said that I can start going to the academy!"

"Congratulations, Naruto-kun!" said Teuchi, grinning at the hyperactive child. "When do you start?"

"Tomorrow," he said, sitting back down properly.

"That's great, I'm happy for you. Make sure you work hard!"

"Right!"

After that things quieted down a bit. Naruto had a second bowl of ramen and listened to Teuchi talk with Ayame about random things.

"Hey, Naruto," said Mikoto softly, dropping the kun on a whim. Teuchi and Ayame were focused back on their work. "Do you remember when we ate here together last time, you were trying to ask me something but the ANBU cut you off. Do you remember what you were going to say?" Naruto did his best not to blush again. He shook his head.

"Sorry, Mikoto-san, I don't," he said quickly. She rubbed his head, ruffling his already unkempt hair.

"That's alright, I'm glad I got to eat with you again," she said with a smile. Naruto swallowed quickly. Just as she had the first time he met her, this woman was making him feel things he didn't understand. He looked at his empty bowl, he was done here now, but he realized that he didn't want to leave. He sat there, kicking his feet slightly, glancing over at Mikoto as she finished her ramen.

"Do you," began Naruto, his voice dying off a bit as Mikoto looked at him curiously. He bit the inside of his lip. At least this time he would say everything. "Do you want to come help me get new clothes?" he completed quietly. Mikoto looked at the boy in the ripped shirt before her. In her mind Fugaku's words played over and over again about doing her duty to her clan and not to go around with the jinchuriki. She looked in the boy's bright blue eyes until he averted them shyly. Well, that about did it for her. _Sorry, Fuga, but I just can't hold back anymore,_ she said to herself.

"Sure, I'd be happy to," she said. Instantly she knew she had done the right thing as Naruto's eyes lit up even more. Putting a few ryo notes on the counter she said, "We're heading out Teuchi-san." They said their goodbyes and began walking down the road towards the main marketplace of the village. There were a number of good clothing stores that would fit his likely small budget. He _was_ only seven after all. It was stupid that whoever was watching over him hadn't taken him to get clothing themself, instead of telling the boy to just go do it. Wouldn't he just end up getting things that weren't exactly right anyway?

"Now Naruto, this time you have to actually pick something," she said with a small smile as they walked down the moderately busy street. "You can't be too picky like yesterday. I'm sure we'll find something." Naruto looked at the ground, avoiding her eyes. "What's wrong?" she asked. Naruto didn't say anything. "Please tell me, Naruto, I won't get mad at you."

"I'm sorry Mikoto-san, I didn't tell the truth yesterday," said Naruto slowly. "I, um, I went to the shops but no one would let me buy anything. I-" he glanced up at Mikoto who was looking at him in the strangest way. "I mean," he continued quickly, stumbling over his words, "I didn't do anything, or I don't remember doing anything, but most places are like that so it's no big deal. It'll be okay if you're with me right?" Mikoto just nodded, not trusting her voice at that moment. Stores didn't let him _buy things?_ Something else occurred to her.

"Is it... is it the same with places to eat?" she asked softly, doing her best to keep the edge out of her voice.

"Don't- don't tell Teuchi-san," he said, grabbing her shirt with a small hand. "I don't want him to think that's the only reason I come. I really like his ramen the best!" Mikoto put a comforting hand on his head. His eyes said it all. He was scared; scared of losing what might be the only place that seemed to accept him as Naruto Uzumaki and nothing else. She knew that Teuchi would never do such a thing, but how could Naruto ever know that? Mikoto just moved close to the boy and put her arms around him, pulling his head just below her bosom.

"Don't worry, everything's going to be alright," she said soothingly, stroking his head. Naruto stood there frozen for a moment before wrapping his arms completely around her waist, squeezing slightly as if this were new to him. "Now, shall we go get you something new to wear?" Naruto backed away slightly, nodding. "Then let's go." They continued down the road into the the busy market at the center of the village. It was filled with street vendors and stores of all kinds, selling anything from food to ninja weaponry. Naruto walked close to Mikoto's side so as not to get lost in the crowd, ignoring the looks he got from those who recognized him. After more than a few years of such reactions he had become fairly numb to the whole thing. Mikoto on the other hand felt herself losing more and more respect for the shopkeepers and villagers she once saw as kind caring people. There was being afraid of the Kyuubi, but this was just unreasonable. Reaching their destination, a clothing shop that she often purchased from for the family, she opened the store door and motioned inside to Naruto. He looked apprehensive but walked inside. She followed, shutting the door behind her and cutting the din from the street almost completely off.

"Welcome," said the shopkeeper, walking to the front with an armful of cloth. "Ah Mikoto-san it's good to see you and who-" the shopkeeper came up short when he spotted Naruto. "Out kid, I won't be having any troublemakers in my shop, I told you that yesterday and I won't be having it today." Naruto stepped back slightly but Mikoto moved forwards immediately.

"May I ask what the boy has done to deserve such treatment from you, Shinichi-san?" she said icily. "As you can see, he needs something new to wear, has chosen your shop, and has the money to pay for it. I don't see the issue."

"Mikoto-san, perhaps you aren't aware, but this...boy...has a terrible reputation as a troublemaker and a delinquent, causing trouble for stores all over the place. I'm happy to accept money from a customer as the next shop, but I'm not interested in trouble here." Mikoto stepped forward so that there were very close.

"Shinichi have a heart, the boy needs new clothing, just look at him," she said softly so that Naruto wouldn't hear. He just stood there nervously, one eye on them and one eye on the floor. "I promise he won't cause you any trouble at all. Ever. I take full responsibility."

"But Mikoto-san, you know what-" but he was silenced when she covered his mouth with her hand tightly.

"Do not dare to break the Hokage's law in my presence," she hissed. He nodded at which she let him go with a huff. "Will you let the boy shop? If he gets a good amount of clothing then no clothing shop would be seeing him for quite a while anyway."

"Fine fine, just I'm keeping an eye on him," said Shinichi with a small scowl. "When every other store around refuses to let him in the door it's not like it's for nothing."

"Come on Naruto, let's fit you into some stuff," said Mikoto, beckoning to the boy. As he walked over carefully she added to Shinichi, "Can you show me what you'd have in his sizes that's second hand? If what he's wearing is any indication, it would be good to cover all the bases."

* * *

An hour later, Shinichi happily closed the door behind the two as they left with a large bag of clothing each. With everything they bought, not only would he likely not see the boy for years, but he had also made a very good sale on a great number of second hand things that didn't sell that well.

Mikoto followed Naruto back slowly to the large apartment complex he lived in. He had offered to take both bags back home himself and said she didn't need to come, but Mikoto wanted to see where he lived. With everything she knew about Naruto now she really could only hope for the best and do everything she could to try to help him for the future. It wasn't as if she would be able to take care of him like he was her own child, though the desire to do so still burned fiercely. She still had all of her responsibilities to her clan, not to mention her own husband and children. With Kushina as her best friend, she would have likely taken an aunt role in Naruto's life anyway. Just as she had hoped that Kushina would do so for Sasuke.

"This is it," said Naruto, stopping in front of a multilevel building with an odd shape. There were likely hundreds of different apartments here. "The Lady is always unhappy, but this time she won't be mad because I got the clothing. I hope she's asleep though," he added. The entrance was, for the first time in a while, completely empty. Not wanting to tempt fate, Naruto led Mikoto up a number of flights of stairs before walking down a long hallway. "Here it is. I cleaned before I left earlier." Mikoto closed the door behind her and looked around the small apartment. In all honesty it wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. She went to the back, peeking into the bathroom which was clean, and the kitchen/dining area, which was also clean. Being the mother of two sons, she had a justified expectation of at least _some_ amount of dirtiness, so the clean state of everything was baffling.

_Then again, what does he actually have here to make a mess with? He barely owns anything and he eats at Teuchi's every meal._

Naruto was currently dumping his new clothing on the bed in excitement. He had never gotten so many new things before. He wanted to try everything on. Mikoto asked where his other clothing was and he pointed to the solitary dresser. She opened it to find a handful of shirts a couple pairs of shorts and a pair of pants. Some socks and underwear were in a top drawer. Everything without exception was worn out. There was no way he could have bought these from a store. It was more than likely that when he left the orphanage they gave him a handful of things to last him until he got something new. Of course it had taken so long for that something new to arrive that everything was literally falling apart at the seams.

"Did you get all of your old clothing from the orphanage?" she asked, curious.

"Yeah when I left they gave me some stuff," he said with a shrug.

"I figured as much. Naruto, pass me one of those bags," she said, holding out her hand. He passed one quickly and continued sorting out his clothing, looking at it all one piece at a time. Mikoto completely emptied the dresser into the bag. "Now take a pair of underwear, a shirt, and new pair of shorts and go change out of what you're wearing now. Then give me everything you took off alright?"

"Um, alright," he said, grabbing pieces at random and disappearing into the bathroom. Moments later he emerged wearing a black shirt with the Uzushiogakure symbol emblazoned at the center in red, and a pair of plain tan shorts. Mikoto held open the bag in which Naruto depositing his old clothing.

"Shoes too," she added, pointing to the pair he had left by the door. Naruto scooped them up and tossed them in the bag as well.

"Why are we putting all the old stuff in there?" he asked as Mikoto tied the bag off tightly.

"What do you think?" she said, eyebrows raised. "We're getting rid of it."

"Oh," he said shortly. They worked together to put away his new stuff in an organized manner, though Mikoto knew it wouldn't last that way. At least this time he was able to actually fill his dresser with clothing. Not only had she made sure he had things that fit him, but she also had him get a few things that were too big. He didn't understand at first but as she explained simply, it wasn't as if he were going to stay that size forever. It was an investment. Glancing out the window she saw that it was getting later in the day than she hoped it would. She still had to finish her errands for her own home.

"Alright, I have to go Naruto," she said, looking down at the freshly clothed boy. He looked like a regular boy now. "Do you have food here?"

"Umm..." Naruto dodged the question by looking to the side. Mikoto raised her eyebrows and walked into the back room, opening up the fridge and the cabinets. As expected she found a handful of instant ramen packets and the fridge was empty save a single bag. She just grabbed it and threw it away, not even bothering to find out what was in it.

"I know you start at the academy tomorrow so as soon as you find out what your schedule is going to be tell Teuchi-san. He'll tell me. Then I'll meet you at whatever time you start going to Ichiraku's again. We need to get you some regular groceries. You can't just live off of Teuchi's ramen. He's not open all the time you know."

"Yeah, that would be really cool, dattebayo!" said Naruto, the thought of being able to get Teuchi's ramen at any time of the day or night making him excited. He yawned to his great surprise. He was never tired during the day.

"Don't forget, you were in the hospital until this morning," reminded Mikoto. "Why don't you take it easy for the rest of the day. I'll see you soon, kay?" Naruto looked at her smiling eyes.

"Kay. Thank's Mikoto-san," he said earnestly. Holding the bag of old clothing, Mikoto stopped at the door and looked back.

"Ne, call me Mikoto," she said waving at him, before closing the door behind her. Mikoto sighed heavily. That whole experience had taken a lot out of her as a mother, but it didn't matter. She wouldn't let Naturo go it alone any longer, even if it was just for a small amount of time every few days it was better than nothing. Though she would have to hurry or Fugaku would get suspicious. Chuckling slightly at her own folly, she made a hand sign and disappeared in a small poof of smoke. Nothing wrong with using a little ninja speed every once in a while.

Naruto lay back on his bed, trying to puzzle out the woman who had so abruptly inserted herself into his life. His head still buzzed from the hug she had given him earlier. Was this what it was like to have a real mom? He wondered if his real mother were still alive would she do the same? Mind running thoughts of parents and what ifs, Naruto drifted off.

* * *

Minato was currently reeling from everything he had learned of his son in the past few hours since he woke up in the hospital. He and his wife were completely aware of their son, though Naruto hadn't or possibly couldn't know of their existence yet. They knew what he saw, they knew what he thought, they knew what he felt. And after a little while he was finding it difficult not to break into sobs as his wife had done, clutching his side fiercely.

"It- it's alright, Kushina," he said, rubbing her shoulder, though his voice was tight.

"Alright?" she practically shouted. They were both still in the forms of children, and it was a disconcerting to see so much emotion on the young Kushina's face. "Minato, our son is an outcast! You must have noticed the way the villagers were treating him. He said they don't even let him in their shops. He lives on his own, but he's only seven! What the hell was everyone _thinking!_" She was enraged. Enraged at the village she had sacrificed herself again and again to protect.

"It's not as if all is lost," said Minato, still keeping a supporting arm around her. "The man who runs the ramen shop is very kind and your good friend Mikoto looks after Naruto. I find myself liking the woman a great deal." Wiping her eyes Kushina nodded. She was so grateful to her friend for heling her son.

"Why wasn't Naruto taken in by someone?" she asked softly. "I had many friends who had children of their own, including Mikoto. Why didn't she adopt him..."

"I'd imagine that most of our closer friends were wither maimed or killed battling the Kyuubi," said Minato, scratching his chin lightly. "Though perhaps they too feared the Kyuubi within our son. However, I can completely understand Fugaku not wanting Naruto in his family. The clan with the potential ability to control the Kyuubi adopting the boy with the Kyuubi sealed in him would look very suspicious, regardless of the intent behind it."

"Alright, Minato, since you seem to be enjoying defending everyone..." said Kushina, drawing out of his reach and facing him. Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "_Where's Jiraiya? You remember him. Naruto's_ godfather_,"_ Minato sweat dropped.

"Easy now Kushina," he said, putting up his hands. "I'm actually happy that Jirayia isn't here from what we've seen so far. That would mean hes out doing his missions, which are likely keeping Naruto safe from anything outside the village. He is one of the greatest ninja this village has, after all." Kushina just let out a puff of air.

"Missions, yeah right. Damn perving..." Her voice died as she looked to the side and noticed that they weren't alone. Minato quickly looked to find his son standing a number of feet away from them, looking around in complete confusion.

"Is this a dream?" he said, walking forward a bit. "It's all dark. Hey, who're you?" he asked, suddenly noticing them there. It appeared he had just, shown up.

"Isn't is polite to introduce yourself first?" asked Minato with a smile. Kushina just looked at him. What was he playing at?

"Ah, sorry," said Naruto, scratching his head. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki, what's your name?" Minato frowned glancing at Kushina who got the silent message. Naruto _Uzumaki_, not Naruto Namikaze.

"To be honest we don't know," said Kushina suddenly making Minato look at her. "We seem to be in your mind though." She looked back at Minato and raised her eyebrows in a way that said, W_hat, he's seven. Who cares, it'll be fine._

"You can't remember your names? That's not good..." he said, looking at them in curiosity. "You kind of look like me, but with white hair," he added, pointing at Minato.

"Really?" he said, still smiling, "I was thinking that you actually look kind of like _me_." Kushina couldn't help but giggle a bit. This was their first interaction with their son after all. Her hand twitched but she kept her body under firm control. It was hard not to throw herself on her son and though Minato was joking around, she knew he was probably going through something similar. Naruto just smiled.

"But where are we?" he asked, looking around.

"We're in your mind," said Kushina. "You're taking a nap in your home right now."

"So are you a dream I'm having?" he asked. His confusion was completely apparent.

"Not really," said Minato. He motioned to the space around them. "This is really called a mindscape. It's something that's inside your mind. And we're pretty much guests, you didn't make us show up here."

"So then how did you get here?"

"That's the problem," said Kushina. "We don't remember anything. Just random stuff." Naruto was frowning, trying to process everything.

"So, are all mindscapes black like this?" he asked slowly.

"No, you're pretty much in control," said Minato. "So you should be able to make this place whatever you want it to be like. Just think of being in a place and-" suddenly they were in a huge room with dozens of rickety bunk beds, lined up in three long rows. The ceiling was high, and light spilled in from the windows on the far wall. "There you go," said Minato, impressed. "Where is this?" Naruto just looked around with a scowl.

"This is where I slept when I lived at the orphanage," he said moodily, sitting on a nearby bed. "I didn't like it here. Why did this place have to show up."

"Hey," said Kushina, sitting next to him. "Do you... know who your parents were?" Naruto shook his head.

"No, and I don't have any other family so I lived here since I was born," he explained. For some reason the girl looked even sadder than he felt.

"So why do you live in the apartment?" she asked, trying to figure his past out.

"The matron told me that things would work out better for me if I was away from the orphanage and I got moved when I was six. I've been living there since. The landlady looks after me kind of." Kushina looked at him reproachfully, which Naruto mistook as worry. "Don't worry, I can take care of myself."

"You should be proud of yourself, Naruto," said Minato. "You're a strong kid."

"You're a kid too," he said, ducking his head happily. "What about your names?"

"Can't remember them, I told you," said Kushina. Naruto shook his head.

"If you can't remember them then let's just make new ones until you remember the old ones." Minato and Kushina exchanged looks before turning back to their son.

"Alright," said Minato, "but I'll let you come up with it."

"Same here," said Kushina with a smile.

"Are you sure?" said Naruto, though he was excited for some reason. Why was he enjoying himself so much?

"Yeah," said Kushina. "Just take your time, we're not going anywhere."

"Akane," said Naruto at once, looking at Kushina. "I like your hair. It's pretty."

"I like it," said Kushina with a broad smile. _Like father like son,_ she thought happily.

"Uh, Shiro?" said Naruto, looking at Minato's white hair. Minato considered it for a bit then nodded.

"I can live with that," he said, scratching his head.

"Cool."

"So I heard you say earlier that you got into the academy," Minato said, changing the subject. Naruto's eyes lit up.

"Yeah I start tomorrow! I'm gonna be the greatest ninja ever, dattebayo!" Kushina just facepalmed. While noticing it earlier, she had just played it off as a coincidence. Now hearing it again it was clear Naruto had inherited the verbal add on. _God dammit, dattebane..._ "Just like the Fourth Hokage!"

"Oh?" said Minato, keeping his face blank.

"Yeah, he's the coolest most respected ninja ever!" Naruto gushed about his hero. "He sacrificed himself to save the _whole village_! All at once... I think," he added scratching the back of his head. "I only know what I've heard people talk about." Naruto was on his feet in excitement. "So I need to train super hard to be as cool as him and then I'll become Hokage and everyone in this village will respect and look up to _me_!"

"You can totally do it, Naruto!" said Kushina, jumping to her feet as well. Minato also got to his feet.

"You'll have to work really hard but I think you can do it too," he said confidently.

"Thanks," said Naruto happily. "I should really wake up though and start to get ready. How do I-" but in the middle of saying that he vanished, the mindscape reverting to its neutral expanse of black.

"Can he still hear us like this?" asked Kushina. Minato shook his head.

"Considering he didn't know about us until he was in his mindscape I'd say no," he said. "At least not unless we connect with him. I mean we _are_ voices in his head so I would think he should be able to hear us when he's awake as well." Silence stretched between them as they were aware of Naruto getting up and heading out of the apartment, wondering what he should do to prepare himself, and thinking about the weird dream he just had.

"He doesn't know," said Kushina after a second. "About the seal, or that night. He doesn't know anything."

"Yes, and with something like that, it must be purposeful."

"Do you think Hiruzen had anything to do with it?"

"It's more than likely." Minato paced slightly. "Though the Council probably had a hand in his future as well, considering the fox. God this is just all messed up."

"Listen, Shiro," said Kushina with a smirk.

"What, Akane?" he replied, making a similar face.

"I don't know how long we have here in Naruto's mind. Hours, days, years? Who really knows," she said sadly. "It makes me anxious just thinking about it. But still..." she took a deep breath and looked directly into her husband's eyes. "I want to help him as much as possible. We can help him through life in a way that no one else can because of where we are."

"I agree," said Minato. "It would be ridiculous to think that we would just sit here and watch our son go through life like this." He studied his wife's expression for a moment before continuing, "You're not just talking about regular life help are you?" He knew where this was going but he knew she wanted to say it.

"That's right," said Kushina, making a fist and punching the air in front of her. "I want to train him. Let's make his dream a reality!" Minato grinned and put his fist against hers.

"Yeah!"

* * *

It was the next day. Naruto could barely contain his excitement. The prospect of becoming a ninja filled his head so much that he didn't even give much thought to the bizarre dream he had the day before during his nap. Though he thought he might have a similar dream that night, the moment he put his head to the pillow it was suddenly that morning and he needed to get to the academy. There was no way it really could have been more than a dream anyway. Only crazy people had voices inside their heads.

Finally arriving at the academy, he made his way into the front doors. There was an office at the front which he walked into to find a woman sitting at a desk. She was wearing the standard issue green vest over the navy blue long sleeved shirt that chunins wore, and had oval shaped glasses. Her forehead protector bore the symbol of the village. Naruto tried his best not to drool. It was so shiny.

"Can I help you?" she asked, looking up from her work.

"Ah, I'm Naruto Uzumaki, the Hokage said I'm supposed to start today," he explained nervously. The woman stood up.

"Yeah I've heard," she said, walking past him into the hall. "Follow me, your senesi is Iruka Umino, but you'll obviously call him Iruka-sensei. He's still fairly new but he's an excellent teacher and you will learn from him. Clear?" she asked, looking over her shoulder at the boy following her.

"Yeah."

"Right now we're going to your classroom. You're entering the academy at an odd time and Iruka-sensei is with a group of students that are going to graduate soon so you'll be with a whole new group of students fairly soon. Just do your best. Iruka-sensei will explain everything else you need at the end of the class. Here we are." She knocked on the door before sliding it open. "Iruka-sensei, your new student showed up."

"Ah thanks, Suzume-san..." Iruka stared at her for a second before saying, "Did the Hokage catch you again?"

"Yeah, I hate this vest," she mumbled, pushing Naruto into the room. "I'll leave it to you then." She shut the door behind herself and walked back to the office.

"Naruto Uzumaki, right?" asked Iruka. Receiving a nod he continued, "Alright, take a seat towards the back somewhere and just relax for now. Obviously I won't expect anything from you like this lot," he said, jerking his thumb at the host of students looking down at him curiously and whispering to each other. "Speaking of you all, your graduation exams are coming up and you know if you fail even one piece of it you'll be held back until the next time they're offered. All of you get down here and do a bunshin, and I mean a good one, not some half assed copy. One day an enemy ninja you won't see will attack you in a way you can't dodge. It's already too late. With a clone the attack is harmless and your opponent has lost his or her advantage over you. Without the clone you're just another name on a tombstone. Come on," he repeated, beckoning everyone down to the front of the room. Naruto watched in amazement as the students began to make perfect copies of themselves. Each time Iruka-sensei swung an arm through the clone disperse it. Most student's clones vanished immediately when he did it, though some vanished before he even touched them, after which he would berate them and tell them to practice more.

"_So are you excited?"_ came a male voice. Naruto looked around rapidly for the source of the voice but there was no one around him. The voice sounded familiar.

"_Shiro, you're scaring him,"_ said a second voice, female this time. Again Naruto looked around, but the name stuck out. It couldn't be...

"Akane?" he said softly. He felt a laugh in his mind, though it wasn't his own. This was weird.

"_That's right, Naruto, I'm so glad you can hear us,"_ she said, cheerfully.

"But I thought you guys were-"

"_All just a dream? Can't blame you, to be honest," _said Shiro. _"But we're not."_

"That is just so awesome," Naruto breathed. He put his head down on his arms, covering his mouth so that it wouldn't look like he was talking to himself. "How are you doing that?"

"_Not too sure, but it wasn't hard," _said Shiro. _"We're connected somehow. You probably haven't realized this, but we can see everything you do."_

"No way," said Naruto, surprised.

"_Yeah, and we know what you're thinking and feeling," _said Akane.

"Wait that means you can see when I'm in the bath?" he said mortified, blushing. It might be one thing if it was just Shiro, but Akane was a _girl_!

"_Well, yeah,"_ said Akane, _"but-"_

"_Don't worry Naruto," _said Shiro reassuringly. _"I make sure she isn't watching."_ Naruto let out a breath.

"Thank's, Shiro."

"_Oi, stop making me out to be a peep! Anyway," _said Akane, her voice grumpy, _"are you excited watching the students use jutsu?"_

"Yeah I can't wait to start learning," said Naruto.

"_There's actually a lot to learn before you can start doing jutsu of any kind," _said Shiro.

"Like what?"

"_Well, some chakra control for one," _said Akane. _"But you also have to learn all the different hand seals to perform the different techniques with. There are a lot of seals to learn by heart."_

"_And,"_ continued Shiro before Naruto could say anything, _"That's not the only thing that makes up a ninja. A lot of physical training must balance out the mental training. You need to be able to fight with taijutsu."_

"Being a ninja sounds hard," said Naruto.

"_Oh are you feeling intimidated?" _asked Shiro. Naruto jumped up at once.

"Hell no!" Everyone at the base of the room looked up at him.

"Naruto! Don't be disruptive!" called Iruka, before getting everyone back to the task at hand. He was trying to help some of the less proficient bunshin users fix their technique while the others practiced more with each other, seeing how long they could hold the clone for.

"Sorry Sensei," he said before sitting back down quickly. _'Well, that was close.'_

"_I'll say, you should be more careful,"_ said Akane. _"You don't want people thinking you're crazy do you?"_

"Yeah, hang on how did you-"

"_We can hear what you think, remember?"_ she said simply.

"So I won't be able to keep any secrets from you two," he said with a small frown.

"_Did you want to keep secrets from us?"_ asked Shiro. Naruto shook his head, grinning.

"Nah, plus who would you tell?"

Naruto sat there for the rest of the lesson, occasionally chatting with Shiro and Akane as things came up. It was amazing, they always had an answer for every question that crossed his mind, whenever something he was curious about came up in the class. He also got used to speaking to them through pure thoughts. It was useful when he was surrounded by other students, though it still felt weird to him. Shiro and Akane's voices still made sound in his mind, so it felt weird not to answer them aloud. A couple hours later the class let out for the day and Iruka called him down to talk.

"Alright, Naruto," he said, "I've got a bunch to explain to you so just sit tight and don't shout out like you did earlier. You can ask questions at the end alright?"

"Yes Iruka-sensei," he said obediently.

"Good, now first of all I have a bag for you," he said, picking up a small duffel and placing it on his desk and unzipping it. "This is everything you get given when you start at the academy. First are a set of practice kunai knives and shuriken," he said, placing them on the table. There were five kunai and twice as many shuriken. "You will need to become proficient with using them both in short and long range. The academy isn't responsible for their care or to replace them. If you lose them all then you will have to find replacements. A ninja is only as good as his gear. Take good care of them."

"I will Sensei."

"Next is a map of the village that shows the location of every training ground," he said pulling out the folded piece of paper and opening part of it. "It would be a good idea to put this up fully on a wall where you will see it all the time. As a Konoha ninja you must be familiar with the entire village. Also, regarding the training grounds, there are fifty in total. The zeroth training ground is a wildlife preservation area so just ignore it and don't do anything there. Training grounds forty-four through fifty are off limits to academy students as well as genin. You have to be a chunin or above to enter them. That's because they are dangerous. Area fourty-four _is_ called the Forest of Death for a reason. Other than those that I mentioned the training grounds are open to anyone at any time. Use them to hone your skills. Becoming an excellent ninja takes practice. I suggest that you stick to the lower numbered ones as they are easier to use and are a good match for a new student. You still with me?"

"Yes Sensei," said Naruto. He was listening hard. This was the most an adult had ever talked to him before and he knew that it was serious. Iruka grinned.

"Good. Next is this," he pulled out a number of books that thumped heavily onto the desk. "The other side of the academy, namely the academic side." Seeing Naruto's confused expression, Iruka said, "You didn't honestly think all we did here was teach you how to fight did you? You're here to learn in general. A kid your age who doesn't go to the ninja academy usually ends up in a regular school of some sort to learn about things like math, history, as well as reading and writing skills." Naruto looked absolutely horrified. As much as he didn't want to, Iruka couldn't help but feel a twinge of liking for the boy. This part of showing new students what they were in for really made the first day of the term a lot of fun. Though obviously this time it was just for him.

"I've never done any of that stuff before, like math and history," said Naruto. He was feeling panicky.

"Didn't you- ah right," said Iruka, wondering how he forgot exactly who was sitting in front of him. "Don't worry about it Naruto, you'll do just fine. Just work hard and you'd be surprised at what you can accomplish." Naruto looked down, though he was smiling. In the past day he had never known so many people who thought that he could do well.

"I'll do my best Iruka-sensei," he said.

"That's what I want to here," Iruka said, putting everything back in the bag. "Now last thing, is this little book that has the leaf shinobi code." He flipped the small black book in his hands open and leafed through the pages. Each held a few rules in bold print. "I'll say this to you now, and never again," he said softly. Naruto leaned closer to hear better. "You should follow the rules in this book to become a better ninja. Most of them are very important. However the most important rule to being a ninja isn't written in here... and that rule is to know when to use this," he paused, shaking the book in his hand, "or when to use this," he finished by tapping his chest. "Get me?"

"Not really," said Naruto. Iruka just chuckled.

"You will eventually," he said. "Now, tucked in one of your books by the cover should be a schedule with the class times. Since you're clearly not going to be doing what everyone else is until the new class comes in, I'll have you work on concentration and chakra control. There's no harm in getting a head start on it. Most student's who come from prominent ninja households have already been trained to varying degrees by family, so don't be surprised by anyone's ability. We're here to support each other."

"Yes Iruka-sensei," said Naruto, looking forward to getting started.

"Now take this all home, and go through it all today. Get familiar with your new equipment." Iruka stood up with a stretch and began walking to the door. "Don't forget to put up that map!" The door slid shut behind him.

Naruto just looked at the duffel and everything in it.

"_You alright?"_ asked Akane.

"It's a lot," said Naruto.

"_You have a really good sensei," _said Shiro. _"He said a lot of what I would have said."_

"Do you two really think I can do this?" asked Naruto, pulling out a kunai and sticking a finger through the ring at the end. He spun it once before letting the handle thump into his hand. It was heavier than it looked.

"_Naruto, it's not about thinking,"_ said Akane. _"I _know_ you can do it. Shiro does too."_

"_And we're going to help you," _said Shiro. _"Between myself and Akane, we'll be able to train you into the best ninja Konoha's ever seen!"_

"_Now let's go home and put up that map, dattebane!"_

* * *

**A/N:** Chapter two complete! Who's excited? I know I am, dattebane! So this is what I came up with after hours and hours of thinking about a million different things. I figured out what to do about the Uchiha Massacre too. (Look forward to it? Ugh sounds evil lol) Anyway, let me know how you liked where this is going. Obviously there will be a bunch of young Naruto stuff going on here, and with the guidance of his parents he won't be doing idiotic things all the time to get attention, though he's still prone to being a young boy who likes getting into the occasional mischief. The interactions he has with all the characters at this point will be effected and changed. Aren't you interested to know what it would be like for Naruto to actually _not_ be dead last? I might loosely follow the plot of the canon but it would be loose, like I said._  
_

Also as you can obviously tell, I've taken some liberties with the academy system and the training grounds and pretty much anything else I didn't find any adequate information on. So just barrel roll with it, like I am. Naruto won't fail to graduate twice here, makes no damn sense to begin with. In this fic you'd generally enter the academy at 8 years old and graduate four years later. The only reason you'd graduate super early is if your ninja skills are so damn good that they want you doing missions right away. You'd still have to do some outside study to learn shit up to a genin level in your spare time. For the record, think about how certain people in the series graduated at like 5-7, when "geniuses" like Neji and Sasuke (and Lee who is a genius in his own right) still graduate when they're 12. Okay that just makes everyone who graduated at 5-7 a super badass. I will treat them as such.

So let me know if there's a particular thing you'd like to see or if you just want to enjoy a lot of young Naruto in general. I'm definitely going to have the beginning of the whole group of em coming to the academy. It'll be fun. Don't worry though, we will get to graduation age Naruto after a bit. That includes teams, which I might screw around with, and missions. And a chunin exam. And everything else omg can't wait ^^ There's only so much you can do at 7-8 anyway you know?

So all in all, look forward to it, cuz it's gonna be awesome.

PS: If anyone who knows about the various names of the types of clothing that the different people wear in the series could you be a pal and write a review or send me a PM saying what stuff is? I'm still pretty lost on what a bunch of that stuff is called and it's gotten confusing when I try to figure it out xD

PPS: Do you like my long chapters? Tell me you do and I'll keep writing them long. At this rate, 7 more chapters and I'll hit 100k lol


	3. Chakra and Blood

**Behold the advent of Chapter 3! Brought to you with excitement. Still some more set up to the story, but thats what the opening chapters are for right?**  
**Enjoy and let me know what you think.**

* * *

**One week later**

Naruto could barely believe the change his life had gone through in the past week. He still occasionally wondered if this were all some big illusion, but Akane and Shiro always reassured him. They had taken a very firm direction of his training and studying, helping him get organized and working in a way he knew he couldn't have done on his own. After his first day at the academy he had quickly gone home to put up the large village map on the wall next to the front door. As he looked it over wide eyed, Shiro and Akane pointed out where various things were, as well as his own home in relation to it all.

"Why do you two know the village so well?" he had asked them in curiosity. "You're in my head."

"_Well I don't remember why but the fact that I do know all about this village means that I have to be a Konoha ninja right?"_ said Akane reasonably.

"_Yes, that makes the most sense to me as well"_ said Shiro. _"It would be odd to have a person from a different village in your head, don't you think?"_

"I don't know I've never had voices in my head before." Naruto often forgot that they were missing parts of their memories, as they knew so many things to begin with. Not for the first time he wondered where they came from, but passed it off as a bad job. What did it matter? They were there, and that's what counted.

He had also found a large piece of wood next to a building that he brought home to set up as a target for throwing shurken at close range. It went on the wall adjacent the map, to the left of his dresser. Digging in his bag he took out one of the practice shuriken and threw it at the wood where it thocked softly, staying there for a second before falling to the floor.

"_Don't worry, you'll get good with practice, but that's for later," _said Akane. _"Anyway, let's start exploring the training grounds." _Naruto spent much of that week running all over the village, mainly getting familiar with the training areas and other parts of the village he had never been too. The best part about it all was that Shiro and Akane knew the village so they were able to help him out if he ever got turned around.

The training grounds were incredibly varied. While some were practically no more than bare stretches of land that just looked cut out of the wilderness, some were filled with targets and obstacles to train with. Only the low numbered training grounds really looked alike. Numbers one, two, four, and six often had academy students and some genin training on the. Those four had also had a good number of long ranged painted targets to use. Training ground three was always empty, though occasionally Naruto thought he saw someone there.

"What's this thing?" he had asked, the first time he came to the area. He was looking at a large shiny black stone shaped like a kunai knife sticking straight up out of the ground. It was on a platform made of the same black stone. Upon closer inspection there were names inscribed on it in tiny writing.

"_This is the memorial stone," _said Shino. _"The people who have their names on here are konoha ninja who have been killed in action. Many of the names here are of those who have sacrifices their lives to save the village when it was in danger. People often come here to leave flowers and other small offerings in their memory."_ Naruto ran his hand over the cold smooth stone, his fingers feeling the faint engravings of the names.

"So that would mean my mom and dad are on here right?" he said, eyes scanning the names as if the ones he was speaking about would pop out. "I mean," he continued, letting his hand fall to his side, "why else wouldn't they be around."

"_I'm sure your parents loved you very much, Naruto," _said Akane quickly.

"Yeah," he said, turning away from the monument. "Let's keep going. There's more grounds to see. Where's the next one?"

"_It's pretty close by," _said Shiro. _"Just follow our directions like before..."_

And so his week took on a loose pattern. He woke up, ate a quick breakfast, then ran off to the academy where he sat in class and watched Iruka-sensei review what was going to be on the graduation exams. During his time sitting in class, Iruka-sensei told him to practice his concentration and to observe how the older students worked. They would be good examples for him when the new year started. Once class was released in mid afternoon, he would run off to Ichiraku's and have a late lunch, as he never brought anything to eat with him to class. After finishing lunch he would head back home where he would work on studying the map more and the training grounds. He spent much of the rest of the day either running around the village or doing some math exercises with Akane, who insisted that he do at least a little now before he had to do it all the time at the academy. He didn't want to fall behind after all. Once evening came around he returned to Ichiraku's for dinner where he talked to Teuchi about what he was doing, then he headed back home, though he usually had a little extra something to eat for the next morning. He played around with his shuriken or something else for a while until he got tired, and after washing up, went to sleep. Of course, this was when the real training began.

"I'm going to start teaching you hand seals today," said Shiro to a rapt Naruto. Akane sat over to one side on a bed. They were still in the large orphanage room, though Naruto had tried to change it. Shiro explained that he probably had the easiest time creating this space because he lived in it for many years. Also, it appeared that though Naruto was consciously active during his sleep it wasn't affecting him in any way and he still woke up rested the next day. This made the mindscape training perfect. He was also happy to be able to visit them in person, so to speak.

"For jutsu?" he asked excited.

"Yes, you use hand seals to perform various jutsu, _however_," he said putting a lot of emphasis on the last word, "just knowing the seals won't do anything. There are a number of things that go into using a jutsu, just like there are a number of things that go into using a jutsu effectively. I'm not teaching you any jutsu yet," he finished, crossing his arms with a small smile.

"Aww come on," said Naruto, also crossing his arms. Akane just did her best to suppress her mirth. They really were so similar.

"Naruto," she said, drawing his attention. "What Shiro and I are trying to do is build a very solid foundation in you. Though we may not teach you many techniques at first, we'll be teaching you the tools you need to become the greatest ninja. That I promise."

"There are some ninja that think that just because they know a lot of jutsu they are better than everyone else," said Shiro, shaking his head. "A ninja who can do just _one_ jutsu flawlessly is always better than a ninja who can do a hundred jutsu sloppily. Do you understand?"

"One bowl of Teuchi-san's ramen is better than a thousand bowls of anyone else's!" said Naruto firmly. Shiro just blinked.

"That's right Naruto," said Akane. "Make sure you do jutsu like Teuchi-san makes ramen!" She winked at her husband who just sighed.

"Anyway, I'm going to show you the hand seals and you're going to copy me," he said. "Then I'll make sure you're doing it properly and we'll just go from there."

"Okay," said Naruto, standing up. "I'm ready."

"Great. First is Tori..." Akane watched as Shiro made the bird seal and had Naruto copy him. "Close, put those two fingers together, yeah that's it. Tuck in your thumbs, perfect. This is Tori. Now lets jump to Inu." Shiro made the dog seal.

"Oh this one's easier," said Naruto, copying the simple seal immediately. Shiro looked it over and adjusted the position of his hands slightly before nodding.

"It is right? Now, switch back to Tori," said Shiro, demonstrating the switch in slow motion. "Watch. Tori... Inu... Tori... Inu. You try." Naruto frowned as he went from the simple dog seal to the more intricate bird seal. Shiro corrected his mistakes and just had him repeat the exercise multiple times until he could go from one to the other without messing up either seal. After a little while Naruto's frown turned into a smile; he sped up slightly, enjoying himself and pretending he was doing an awesome jutsu. Eventually Shiro waved to get his attention. "You ready for another one?"

"Yeah!"

"Alright, this one is Uma." They continued to make seals together, swapping between them at Shiro's verbal command and occasionally adding a new one. "Inu, Ushi, Mi, Ne, Uma, Tori, Tora, Ushi, Ne, Inu, Saru!" he shot suddenly, hoping to catch Naruto off guard, but he caught it, completely focused on his voice. Akane was watching them impressed. As far as she knew this was his first time and they weren't going particularly slow. "Good job Naruto," said Shiro happily. "You picked that up pretty fast. There are still four more that we haven't done yet but I'll save those for next time. I want you to practice them all the time when you're not doing anything with your hands. Like when you're sitting in class these days. You need to become able to do all the seals almost unconsciously. The more you do them the easier it is to switch from one to another, and eventually you'll be able to do this," he went from seal to seal slowly at first but quickly sped up to the point where his hands were a small blur.

"How'd you do that..." said Naruto in amazement.

"Practice. Practice, practice, practice," said Shiro. "But don't forget, more important than speed is accuracy. If you don't form the hand seals right then the jutsu won't work as well."

"Right," said Naruto, nodding.

"My turn," said Akane, jumping up and tapping Naruto on the shoulder. "I'm going to teach you all about chakra."

"I'll sit this one out," said Shiro, but Akane grabbed his arm.

"Hang on I'll need a body to poke at for him," she said. "It'll be easier than poking myself." Shiro shrugged.

"Whatever you need."

"Alright Naruto, chakra one-oh-one," said Akane. Naruto just watched intently. He was eager to learn more about chakra after the rush he had felt earlier. "Now chakra is the combination of the physical and spiritual energy stored in our bodies. Some people are able to mould, or shape that energy to do things not normally possible for a regular human body. People who are able to mould these energies are called ninja. With me so far?" Naruto just shook his head.

"What's spiritual energy?" he asked.

"Well, like it sounds, physical energy is pretty much your stamina," said Akane. "On the other hand spiritual energy comes from training your body and mind, focusing yourself, and other things like that. So you take physical energy," she held up one hand, "and spiritual energy," she held up the other hand, "and when you put them together," she slapped her hands together, "you get chakra."

"Alright," said Naruto, understanding.

"Good. Like I said, chakra is formed by combining those two energies, which happens in your chakra coils." Akane pointed to Shiro's middle. "This is basically where the chakra coils are. Once you build up chakra it can be released through things called tenketsu points. There are 361 tenketsu points over your entire body. The chakra circulatory system lets chakra flow to those points from your chakra coils, like blood goes around your body from your heart. So you can put chakra in your hands, in your feet, in your head, in your shoulders..." All the while she was tracing her finger all around Shiro's body, poking him occasionally.

"Doesn't that tickle?" asked Naruto to Shiro. A hand chopped lightly into the top of his head. "Ow, what was that for?"

"Pay attention," said Akane, putting her hands on her hips.

"Chakra goes around the body like blood," said Naruto to prove he was paying attention.

"That's right," continued Akane. "Unlike blood though, we are able to control how much chakra we push through our body as well as accurately control where it goes. That's how we get the leaf to stick to our foreheads, by focusing a small amount of chakra right here." She added one final poke to Shiro's head. "Thanks, Shiro, you can sit now."

"No problem" he said, relaxing at last.

"So, you must know how to gather chakra, am I right?" Akane asked, almost out of a teacher habit than because she was looking for an answer.

"Pretty much," said Naruto. "I only used it for the first time a week ago thought." Shiro sat up from the bed with a frown.

"Is that true?" he asked curiously. "Do you remember exactly when it was?"

"Um, the day before I met you both," he said with a nod. "The doctor said I pushed it too hard but I ended up in the hospital for one night because of it. I never felt chakra before that." Shiro exchanged glances with Akane. "Is that a bad thing?"

"No, not at all," said Akane quickly. "We're just surprised. Anyway that doesn't matter. This should be good for today. Why don't you take the remainder of the night to just sleep. Don't forget, Mikoto is coming tomorrow right?"

"Yeah she said she has a surprise for me," said Naruto excited. "Let's do more stuff tomorrow." He vanished, the mindscape returning to the neutral expanse of black.

"So do you think it's related?" asked Kushina, stretching slightly. It was somewhat annoying that this place always went back to black whenever her son left. Maybe there was something they could figure out at another time.

"Definitely," said Minato. "I'm concerned about how he said he's never felt chakra before that event."

"Sound's like a seal to me," said Kushina, sitting on the ground. "There are dozens of them them I know that I never taught you. Family secrets," she said with a wink. "But on a more serious note, there's really no way we can know what it was for sure, and I suppose we won't ever find out like this," she said, motioning around at the expanse. "What we do know is that Naruto broke it, whatever it was."

"He seems perfectly fine now," said Minato with a nod, joining his wife on the ground. She leaned against him with a sigh. "I've been feeling conflicted."

"About what?" she asked.

"The fox."

"You want to tell him, right?" she said. Minato sighed deeply.

"It isn't something I want to suddenly dump on him at this age," he explained. "Yet how can we allow our boy to continue to suffer the overwhelming aggression and hatred that the village shows him, while he understands none of it? Wouldn't it be better for him to at least know _why_ people are acting the way they do? Of course, I would have wanted him to know from the beginning, so that he could grow with understanding." Minato paused for a moment. "The question remains, can he handle knowing something like that at this age?"

"The longer we wait, the harder it will become," said Kushina. "That is usually how bad news is. I for one would rather we told him ourselves, as opposed to him finding out in some uncaring way by accident. Don't you think that would be far worse?"

"Yes, I won't deny we're in a much stronger position to help him through that particular bit of knowledge." Kushina looked at him with here eyebrows slightly raised.

"What's gotten into you?" she said with a frown. Minato just stayed silent. Kushina put a finger under his chin and forced him to look at her. "You're afraid he'll come to hate you." It was not a question.

"Is that a bad thing?" he asked grumpily. Kushina just smiled broadly and hugged him tightly.

"Of course not, baka," she replied. Pulling away she continued, "Look, why don't we just give him a little time to grow and then show him. There's really no rush, and he'll find out eventually anyway. It'll be alright."

"Okay, we'll just play it by ear."

"Now while we wait for him to wake up, lets plan out some lessons," said Kushina. "I know we didn't want to get straight into techniques or anything but if you ask me it looks really critical for him to be able to henge as early as possible." She crossed her arms with a grimace. "At least so he can go shopping..."

* * *

It was Sunday, so Naruto didn't have school that day. He woke up late and did his small amount of morning exercises, mainly consisting of pushups and situps. Shiro told him that until he started taijutsu training it would be sufficient. Checking the clock Mikoto had gotten him last time, he saw that it was close to midday. She had said that she would show up in the early afternoon so he jumped in the shower to freshen up. By the time he was out and brushing his teeth, there was a knock on his door.

"Coming," he called, quickly running over to his dresser and grabbing a some clothes which he threw on. Sure enough, Mikoto stood in the doorway holding a small shopping bag. "Hi Mikoto," he said cheerfully, letting her in and shutting the door.

"Hello, Naruto," she said, eying him with humor. "You're hair is dripping, did you just take a shower?"

"Yeah," he said, going back to the bathroom and grabbing his towel. Rubbing his hair vigorously he followed Mikoto into the back room where she was putting a few things into the fridge. Glancing over at him she grinned.

"You're just too much," she said, putting down the carrot she was holding and grabbing the ends of the towel to set about drying his hair.

"Ah, you don't need to-"

"It's fine, just sit still." She rubbed the towel against his head, starting on the sides and moving slowly to the top.

"_You're blushing like a tomato," _teased Akane.

_'Sh-shut up,'_ said Naruto silently, his blush deepening. He was glad the towel hid his face. _'I'm not used to this okay?'_ He expected her to continue but for whatever reason she was silent. _'Akane?'_

"_Yeah?"_

_'Do you remember your mom?'_

"_I- kind of..."_

_'Is this what it's like?'_

"_...yeah."_

"Hey you've got some water on your face too," said Mikoto softly, running the towel across his cheeks. "There, all dry." Naruto put his hands to his head and indeed his hair was drier than he had ever been able to get it before after a shower or a bath. "Now, take a seat and I'll make you some lunch." At the word lunch he remembered how hungry he was.

"_Mikoto is a really great person,"_ said Shiro as she pulled out a frying pan and put it on the stove, lighting it. Out of the bag came a number of vegetables and some meat, along with a small packet of rice.

"_Yes," _said Akane. Her voice sounded subdued for some reason.

_'You okay, Akane?'_ asked Naruto.

"_I'm fine, I wonder what Mikoto is making for you?"_ she said quickly.

_'I don't know but it smells really good,'_ said Naruto. She rapidly cut up ingredients and dumped them into the pan where they sizzled softly. He sat there in silence while she cooked, humming to herself and occasionally looking back at him, smiling each time.

"Ne, Mikoto," said Naruto after a while. "Do you have any kids?"

"As a matter of fact I do, Naruto," she said, tossing the rice in the pan as well and stirring it. "I have two sons. One of them is a little older than you are, he's actually going to be turning eight in a month from now."

"Really?"

"Yes he's so devoted to training to become a ninja like his brother that I rarely get to see much of him these days," said Mikoto, smiling fondly. "You know he'll be starting at the academy in September this year. I assume you'll be in the same class."

"Oh neat, what's his name?" asked Naruto.

"Sasuke. I hope you two will get along," she said, turning the stove off and dumping the food into a bowl she pulled out of a cupboard. "Be careful it's hot."

"Thanks Mikoto," said Naruto, looking into the bowl. It was a mess of a lot of different foods.

"It might not look that pretty, but it's yummy. I promise," she egged. He took a bite.

"Wah, it's really good," he said, now eating faster. She just smiled at him cheerfully.

"Would you like me to cook lunch for you on Sundays?" she asked on a whim. She liked being around him, just as much as her own sons. Maybe somewhere in her heart she had already somewhat adopted him. It was too bad that she couldn't spend much more time with him, her work at the Uchiha compound had gotten much heavier recently. Still she was happy to sneak away for a bit to see the boy. He seemed much more cheerful these days as well.

"Yeah!" said Naruto nodding vigorously. He finished the bowl and handed it back to her. "Thanks for the meal."

"You're very welcome," she said, now scrubbing the pan and bowl in the sink. "So what are your plans for the rest of today.

"_Chakra control, shuriken, and taijutsu," _said Shiro, which Naruto repeated at once.

"I see, sounds like a busy day," said Mikoto. She finished cleaning the pan and bowl, putting them away. "Just make sure you don't work too hard at first. You want to start easy and work yourself more as you build yourself up."

"I'll be careful Mikoto," said Naruto. He ran into the main room to get ready to head to the training ground. _'Which training ground are we going to today?'_

"_We've visited up to training ground twenty so far, so we'll take a break from seeing new ones and just go to uhh," _Akane's voice died out as she considered their options. _"I don't know, what do you think Shiro?"_

"_Let's use area eleven,"_ he said. _"It will suit our needs fine."_

"Alright, training ground eleven it is," said Naruto to himself, finding it on the map at once. So far he remembered the locations of the training grounds pretty well. As he strapped his shuriken pouch to his leg, Mikoto entered the room.

"I'll probably see you in a few days, Naruto," she said, making her way to the door. "Take care of yourself."

"Bye Mikoto," he said with a small wave as she closed the door. "Let's take the fast way today."

"_The fast way?" _said Shiro and Akane at the same time. Naruto just opened the window and launched himself out. _"Oh, the fast way... Are you crazy!?"_

"Don't worry, I've done this a million times," he said to the panicking voices in his head. That's when he remembered that the clothes line he grabbed onto last time wasn't there this time. "Actually I'm in trouble," he added as started falling, his fingers just having let go of the window sill.

"_Naruto! Push chakra into your hands and try to grab onto the wall!"_ shouted Akane.

"How will that help!" shouted Naruto.

"_Just do it!"_ Not knowing what was going to happen Naruto gathered some chakra and did his best to move it to his hands, putting them against the wall. He slid for a few seconds before his left hand caught suddenly, dragging downwards at a mush slower speed and causing the wall to crack slightly. Not wasting any time he moved his feet to a nearby window sill and pushed off, quickly jumping to the side onto the nearby lower roof with the chimney which was only five feet down.

"Wow, what was that?" he said, looking from his hand to the cracked wall. "Oh man the Lady's going to really kill me this time."

"_Let's just get to the training ground,"_ said Shiro, who was trying his best to keep Akane from finding a way to box Naruto's ears in.

"Right, sorry you two," he said apologetically, moving along the roof to a place where he would have an easier time jumping down.

"_Just promise me you won't do that again until you know you can survive the fall,"_ said Akane tiredly. _"I was worried you'd get hurt or worse. As punishment you have to get to training ground eleven without our help in less than ten minutes. If you don't get there before then you'll have extra math when we get back tonight."_ Naruto just blanched and picked up speed. Akane was not a girl you wanted to make mad.

Five minutes later Naruto skidded to a halt at the edge of the training ground. This one was slightly more wooded than the single digit areas, and featured two taijutsu training dummies to one side. They were logs with small arms sticking out in random directions, made for practicing basic blocking forms.

"_Nice one, you move pretty fast you know that?"_ asked Akane, who had let the earlier incident go.

"Haa- haa- thanks," said Naruto. He had sprinted the whole way here. Taking a few more deep breaths he stood up straight, the burning in his leg muscles going away. "Okay, I'm fine now. What should we start with?"

"_Well, after the stunt you pulled earlier it's clear that you need to start doing chakra control exercises right away," _said Akane. _"We'll start with the leaf exercise then go from there."_

"Alright," said Naruto. He picked up a leaf.

"_Now first try to gather a small amount of chakra,"_ said Akane. _"Just a drop is really all you need. Once you can feel that little bit, push it to your forehead while holding the leaf there."_ Almost immediately, the leaf held at his forehead was propelled away, falling lazily to the ground.

"Wow, what happened?" asked Naruto, never having seen that before.

"_That happened because you used too much chakra,"_ she explained. _"Use even less than what you had before."_

"Um, alright," he said, shaking his head. Frowning in concentration, he pushed an even smaller amount of chakra to his forehead where he was holding another leaf. The moment he let go of the leaf it was pushed away again, though certainly not as roughly as the first.

"_Use even less," _said Akane patiently.

"How can I use less chakra than that?" complained Naruto, frustrated that it wasn't working. "That was the tiniest ever!"

"_At least he's able to direct his chakra,"_ said Shiro reasonably. _"Naruto why don't you try making a bunch of leaves stick to your forehead instead of just one. Still try to use the smallest amount of chakra you can manage."_

"I can try," he said, grabbing a handful and putting it to his forehead, channeling the trickle of chakra. A couple dropped off when he let go, but the majority of the leaves stuck there. "Hey its working!" he said excitedly. Unfortunately this caused his chakra to spike slightly, blowing the leaves everywhere.

"_Good job, Naruto,"_ said Shiro. _"At least we know its just a matter of amount and not anything else,"_ he said to Akane.

"_Yeah but it's important that he be able to control his chakra absolutely,"_ she said._ "How's he supposed to adjust for an ability?"_

"Come on I just started five minutes ago," said Naruto disgruntled. "Is there something I can try where I use a lot of chakra?"

"_If you really want to you can build some chakra then just slam it into the ground with your hand,"_ said Shiro. Back in the mindscape, Kushina punched his arm. "What?" he asked so that only she would hear him.

"Don't tell him something like that," she said annoyed. "That's the exact opposite of what we're trying to do here."

"I understand that and clearly his chakra control sucks, which is understandable, but it would also be good to have him handle a good chunk of chakra and then tell him why he shouldn't really do it. Plus he should get a good feel for-" he stopped talking abruptly. They could both sense Naruto gathering a fairly large amount of chakra.

"_Naruto?" _said Akane._ "You said you haven't used chakra really at all, are you alright?"_

"Yeah," said Naruto, looking down at his hands. He could feel the surge of chakra moving throughout his whole body, building. It felt good. "Is it alright if I do more?" he asked. "The last time I did a lot of chakra the Hokage knocked me out. That's what the doctor said when I asked."

"_Don't worry, Naruto, I'm sure he had his reasons," _ said Shiro. _"I'll tell you if you should stop, but just don't go overboard."_

"Alright," said Naruto grinning, at which point his chakra spiked to many times what he was holding earlier.

"_Naruto too much!"_ shouted Akane in alarm. _"You'll hurt yourself!"_

"Super Naruto Ultra Secret Jutsu! Chakra Slam!" he shouted, kneeling and slapping his right hand to the ground and releasing the built up chakra. Immediately his hand was blasted back into the air, propelling him a number of feet backwards onto his back. "Ouch," he said, rubbing his hand as he stared up into the sky.

"_Ugh, men,"_ said Akana, clearly annoyed. _"I told you that you'd hurt yourself."_

"What happened?

"_The name you gave that move was so bad it exploded,"_ joked Shiro, at which Naruto laughed. He sat up met with a surprising scene. The ground in front of him was cracked and uneven like a buckled floor. The damage was in the shape of a circle and there was a small crater at the very center of it. _"What actually happened was pretty much a super version of what happened when you used too much chakra to make the leaves stick. They were pushed away, and in this particular case, the ground was pushed away."_

"_Like what happened to the wall of the building when you were falling only if you did this there it would cause the wall to collapse,"_said Akane. _"Then the landlady would seriously actually kill you."_

"All from too much chakra?" Naruto said, feeling bemused. "But it felt so good to use that chakra."

"_Clearly you have the ability to produce slightly above average chakra, but don't push it like that again until you've started leaning techniques that require that much chakra,"_ said Shiro.

"When will I get to learn those?" he asked.

"_Not until after you graduate the academy,"_ said Akane.

"Ugh that's so far from now," said Naruto in frustration.

"_Don't worry, there are plenty of techniques to learn before then,"_ she reassured him. _"And the sooner you get a good grip on your chakra control, the sooner we can teach them to you. So that means-"_

"More leaf training I know," said Naruto. Walking over to a nearby tree and picking up a number of leaves. He sat with his back to the tree and placed them to his forehead, closing his eyes. This was going to be a long day.

* * *

Minato and Kushina were watching Naruto with amusement. He was determined to get down to one leaf on his forehead, but couldn't hold on to any less then six or seven without blowing them all away. Eventually he just settled with six leaves bunched on his forehead and closed his eyes, hovering between awareness and napping. It hadn't taken too long to get the hang of releasing chakra constantly, though keeping it steady was another matter entirely. After about four or five seconds the leaves would fall off, slightly propelled forwards or just straight down his face, at which he would automatically grab another handful and stick them to his head again, focusing his chakra.

"He's cute," said Kushina, laying on her back. She wished that she had a cushion or something. "It's getting pretty late though. Didn't we want to gave him a little shuriken practice and some very basic taijutsu exercises?"

"Yeah, but it's alright," said Minato, looking down at her. "Even after spiking his chakra like that I didn't feel a difference in my presence here. We're still fully supported here, regardless of what happens."

"I was wondering about that," said Kushina, sitting up. "What happens if he uses up all of his chakra one time? It happens to everyone at some point or another. You know that."

"Well logically, if Naruto who we believe is our source of sustaining chakra, runs out of chakra it would make sense that our own chakra would begin to be used up, though to be honest I'm not really sure it even that would happen."

"What do you mean?" she asked. Minato frowned scratching his chin.

"Well I remember what the state of the chakra each of us had that was sealed into Naruto, and it frankly isn't anything like what we're feeling now. It's possible we have a significantly higher amount of sustaining chakra that is making us up here than when we first arrived, seven years ago," he finished, clarifying. Kusina just shrugged. As likely as it sounded, it was still all just speculation, and she didn't really want to dwell on what would happen if they were wrong.

"Speaking of chakra, why did you tell Naruto he only had an above average amount of chakra? He's got way more than that," she said, her voice sounding prideful. "Certainly more than I did at his age."

"I don't want him to get a big head, that's all," said Minato with a shrug. "I mean honestly have you ever heard of someone not being able to channel _less_ than a specific amount of chakra? As far as I knew, a trickle is a trickle, but Naruto's trickle is about as thick as his arm."

"Do you think it's from the fox?" she asked. They had decided to refer to the Kyuubi as the "fox" in the event that Naruto ever overheard them. Again Minato shrugged.

"I suppose it's possible that the fox has had _some_ effect on Naruto's chakra system, but the seal was made to allow their chakras to mix over time. Of course as he gets older he'd be able to draw more, but in his younger years not much at all. Regardless, all the chakra he uses is his own. That I know."

"Yeah I'd be able to tell as well," said Kushina with a small grin. "So how should we help him handle his _slightly above average_ chakra?" she poked. Minato just grinned in a way that she knew meant trouble.

"Isn't it obvious?" he said. "We teach him cooler stuff."

"No Rasengan," Kuchina said at once holding her arms out in a big X. "Completely suspicious."

"You're such a kill joy," he said. She shot him a look at which he put up his hands. "I wasn't actually thinking of teaching him that move. It's dangerous you know? Anyway, you can't teach him how to use those chakra chains of yours. Same reason."

"You know just as well as I do that it's a personal skill," said Kushina flatly. "I can't teach it to anyone. All Uzumaki's have something unique you know."

"Yeah, you're unique alright," muttered Minato, grinning. Kushina just stuck her tongue out at him.

Leaves blew off of Naruto's head for the thousandth time that day. However instead of picking them back up he just stood.

"Hey, are you two hungry?" he asked.

"_Of course not,"_ said Shiro with humor. _"We just exist in here, remember?"_

"Well I'd be hungry," said Naruto, rubbing his belly. "Let's go get dinner okay?" He grabbed a handful of leaves and stuffed them in his pocket for later before heading back to the heart of the village where a hot bowl of amazing ramen was certainly waiting for him. All the extremely low power constant channeling was making him very hungry. As they got closer to the market, Naruto remembered something. "Ah we were supposed to work on shuriken and taijutsu right? Sorry," he said apologetically.

"_Don't worry about it,"_ said Shiro. _"Like I've said before, it's still really early to be doing a lot. It's better to pace yourself."_

"_Yeah,"_ said Akane. _"Plus, it would probably be better for us to give the initial instruction in taijutsu in the mindscape. So that you can get a better picture of what to do faster."_

"Controlling the chakra earlier was really hard," said Naruto with a frown. He turned a left, instantly spotting the ramen shop ahead.

"_Given time and plenty of practice you'll get it,"_ said Akane. _"I know you'll be able to do it. Work hard, Naruto."_

"Hai, but first food!"

* * *

"Happy birthday Sasuke!"

"Thanks, Kaasan!" The now eight year old Sasuke sat at the table looking excited at the small cake before him, dotted with lit candles.

"Don't just stare at it," chided Itachi, poking his younger brother in the forehead. "Blow them out, I'm hungry." Sasuke just laughed a bit, rubbing his head lightly. He inhaled deeply then blew all the candels out in one shot. Mikoto took the candles before slicing them all pieces. Fugaku took his with a nod of thanks.

"You've been training a lot Sasuke, I can see your improvement," he said approvingly.

"I'm doing my best to be great like Niisan," he said, looking at his brother in admiration. There was no question of Itachi's absolute skill among ninja, even within the Uchiha clan. Fugaku glanced at him sidelong with a small frown.

"Indeed," he said, taking a bite of cake. Mikoto kept her face level, though the air had shifted perceptibly.

"Anyway, Sasuke," she said, changing the topic adeptly, "you've got a couple gifts, why don't you open them?" She handed him two wrapped presents. "The larger one is from your father and myself, the other one is from Itachi." Cake forgotten he tore the one from his parents open with anticipation. The box contained a set of newly made, high quality kunai knives and a matching black leg holster. There was also a double stack of shuriken as well.

"Wow," said Sasuke, picking up one of the kunai and looking at the edge.

""You'll want to be careful with those, son," said Fugaku. "They are just as good as any the ANBU would use. Keep them put away until you're sure you can use them perfectly. Of course," he added with a smile, "your shuriken work is exceptional. Make full use of those as you enter the academy. It's almost August now after all."

"Yeah, thanks Tousan, Kaasan," said Sasuke. He put the kunai back and closed the lid of the box. Itachi took it from him and replaced it with his gift.

"Be a little more gentle with mine, Sasuke," he said with a small smile. Sasuke looked at him curiously at which his brother explained, "I don't want it to blow up before you get to see what it is." Both Mikoto and Fugaku looked at him sharply but he held up his hands in innocence. Not fully trusting his brother, Sasuke unwrapped the gift just as quickly as the last, though still with a tad more care. Under the wrapping he found a plain box that contained a dozen small marble sized, black balls.

"What are they?" he asked, picking one up and looking at it closely.

"Smoke bombs, what else?" said Itachi. Sasuke's eyes lit up instantly as Mikoto put a hand to her face. Trust her elder son to get him something like that. Of course, it certainly could have been worse. "Do you want to try them out?"

"Yeah!" Sasuke shouted, bolting from the room at once. Itachi stood with a smile.

"I'll be out with Sasuke for a bit."

"Alright, but don't cause too much trouble," said Mikoto. He just grinned before giving them a small wave and following his brother. "That was nice of him," she said to her husband after a few minutes of cleaning up from the small party. "I don't think Sasuke's ever used a smoke bomb before."

"As long as it's just smoke bombs..." said Fugaku, standing up with a small groan. He made to leave the room but was stopped when Mikoto held up her hand.

"A word."

"What is it?" Mikoto looked out of the doorway into the hall before sliding it shut. She turned back to her husband, black eyes serious.

"What has been going on within the clan?" she said, voice low.

"I don't know what you're talking about," replied Fugaku, reaching down to pick up his sake cup.

"Please do not play that game with me Fugaku," said Mikoto, crossing her arms, "I know you well enough to know when you are concealing things from me. We have been married for many years after all."

"Very true," he said. The man quickly downed his sake before looking back at his wife. "I had been meaning to tell you soon in any case, however I thought it would be better... never mind," he said, stopping himself. Fugaku sighed slightly. "The clan has become frustrated with the status quo. We intend to change it."

"What do you-"

"Do not pretend you are not frustrated as well," he said sharply. "When you married me, you became a member of a powerful and well respected clan. Once the Kyuubi attacked the village however that changed. We have been shunned since, confined to the edge of the village where we are kept under close watch. You know this to be true."

"I do," said Mikoto. It was true. She was _not_ pleased with how things had changed, but she was a mother of two children then, and she was resolved to be strong for them. "Though I still don't understand what you mean."

"The clan is also heavily suspicious of Itachi," Fugaku continued. "You know the situation with Shisui."

"Yes, it's utter nonsense," spat Mikoto. "To even suggest that he would-"

"I... have lost my faith as well." Mikoto's mouth hung open in shock.

"How could you say that, he is your son!" she said fiercely, forcing her voice to remain level. Her husband poured himself another cup of sake.

"Before I believed him as you do, however recently he has been acting in a way that I suspect do not reflect the clan's best interests," he said, sipping the alcohol. "I am responsible for the safety of an entire clan, Mikoto, I must remain vigilant."

"But what you're talking about, everything with the clan, changing the status quo?" she repeated. "Such a thing could very well endanger our children."

"You wanted to know what was going on, and I told you. You have a right to know as a member of this clan," he smiled slightly. "Injustice is hardly a fitting place to call home, especially for children."

"Fugaku..."

"It'll be alright, Mikoto," he said, putting a hand on her shoulder before downing the rest of his sake and heading out of the room. She stood there, mind buzzing, unable to think of what to do next. Several minutes passed like this before the door opened again.

"Mother?" said Itachi in curiosity. She turned to look at her elder son. There was no way that he was a murderer. There was just no way.

"Where's Sasuke?" she asked, shaking her head slightly. "Still playing with your gift?"

"No, I convinced him to save most of them for another time," said Itachi, leaning against the door frame. "He's in his room right now."

"Good," said Mikoto, making her way to the hall. She paused beside her son for a moment. "Keep your brother safe. No matter what." She walked down the hall and out of sight. Itachi looked down at the remainder of the uneaten cake, frowning.

"Of course."

* * *

Naruto was getting nervous. Finally, after two months of waiting once the academy session ended at the end of June, it was almost time for the new one. Over the last two months Shiro and Akane had done their best to prepare him for the new part of his life. Thinking it over, he hadn't really learned much. He could do all twelve hand seals perfectly, had average aim with a shuriken, wouldn't impale himself on a kunai, and had some basic taijutsu down. Most of the taijutsu training happened in his mindscape when he was asleep because he could actually spar with Shiro and Akane, and they could correct things like the height of his punches and his stance much more easily. He focused on his forms and physical building at the training grounds during the day against trees and practice dummies.

Currently he was standing on the far side of his room, throwing his practice shuriken into the wood target against the wall. As it was so close almost every one found its way to the small circles he drew on it as targets. At first doing such a thing had seemed almost a waste of time, but as Shiro often reminded him, the more you practiced the mundane, the more mindless things became. And being able to do something well without thinking was what separated the good ninja from the truly great. It made sense so he didn't argue.

"Naruto!" came a call from the back room. "Lunch is ready, come get it!"

"Coming Mikoto!" he called back, taking the remaining two shuriken and throwing them at the same time. One hit a target dead center, the other missed his dresser by a few inches, thocking into the wall.

"_Nice shot,"_ said Akane. Naruto shook his head, knowing she wasn't talking about the one that actually hit the target.

"I'll get it later," he said, making his way into the back room. Mikoto was putting a second plate on the table for herself.

"Here you go Naruto," she said, sitting across from him. "Beef with rice and veggies."

"Smells good," he said before shoveling large amounts into his mouth. It was delicious. For once he was silent through the meal, taking seconds without a word and staring out of the window slightly. Once they finished, Mikoto couldn't contain her curiosity any longer.

"What are you thinking about Naruto?"

"What?" he said, having been spaced out somewhat. "Oh, I was just thinking about the academy."

"Are you getting nervous?" she asked.

"A little," he said, handing her the plates. "Do a lot of kids start every year?"

"There are usually a lot of them," she said with a nod. "I think about two classes worth every year." Naruto thought back to how many students were in the class he was a part of for those few weeks. Doubling that... it was a lot of new faces. "But you really shouldn't worry. I'm sure you'll make a lot of friends." Naruto looked at his feet.

"Yeah but I..."

"_If you're going to say what I think you're going to say then you might as well just stop there,"_ said Shiro.

"_Yeah, what about us?" _said Akane testily. Naruto didn't say anything but smiled all the same. It looked like he already did have some friends after all, even though they only existed in his head. Mikoto was still talking.

"Sometimes things get hard, but the academy is fun. It was when I went there," she added. Naruto looked up at this, surprised.

"You went to the academy? Wait, you're a ninja?" Mikoto just grinned and held up two fingers like a V.

"Jonin."

"Awesome," he said, still somewhat taken aback that the nice motherly woman who made him lunch on Sundays was a powerful ninja. After a few minutes Naruto went back to the main room where he retrieved all the shuriken from the wall and began throwing them at the targets again. School was giving him mixed feelings but there was no denying that one of those feelings was excitement.

"Naruto," said Mikoto, coming into the main room as well, "I know I came a day earlier than I normally do, but tomorrow is still Sunday so I'll be back around the same time, alright?"

"Alright," he said, putting the shuriken down.

"Maybe tomorrow I'll have you help me cook," she said with a smile, rubbing his head affectionately. "Take care Naruto."

"Bye," he said, watching her walk down the hall and out of sight.

"_Have you ever tried to cook anything before?"_ asked Akane, curious. Naruto nodded.

"Cup ramen," he said.

"_That doesn't count,"_ she said in exasperation. _"Let's head out and do more chakra control training."_

And so the day passed the same as those before it. However when the afternoon of the following day rolled around, Mikoto was nowhere to be seen.

"Do you think something happened?" asked Naruto, poking his head out of the doorway for the fifth time in thirty minutes.

"_You shouldn't worry so much, Naruto, she's probably just running a little late,"_ said Shiro, shrugging. _"Don't forget she does have her own family to take care of."_ Naruto sighed and closed the door, sinking onto his bead with a thump.

"Yeah I know she had her own family," he said a little broodily. "Still I'm really hungry."

"_If she doesn't come in the next thirty minutes you should just head over to Teuchi-san's," _said Akane reasonably. _"Then we can find out what happened the next time we see her."_

"Alright," he said, grabbing his shuriken from the side table.

Thirty minutes passed uneventfully and Naruto admitted that it would be silly to wait longer to eat. It took no time at all to make his way down to Ichiraku Ramen.

"Hey, Naruto-kun," said Teuchi, noticing the boy and starting to prepare a bowl for him automatically. "How have you been?"

"I'm alright, Teuchi-san," Naruto replied, settling into his usual seat. Out of habit he glanced to the end seat on his left but it was empty. "Mikoto-ehh-san was supposed to visit me for lunch today but she didn't show up," he explained. Teuchi nodded, scratching his chin.

"Ah I was wondering why you stopped showing up on Sundays for lunch," he said. "You've never mentioned it before."

"Really?"

"Yeah, usually you talk about your training," said Teuchi. "How's that been going lately anyway? The new session at the academy should be starting pretty soon am I right? It's the end of August now..."

"It's been good," said Naruto, now talking in between huge bites of steaming ramen. "I was working really hard on a lot of stuff but now I'm just doing more chakra control. They always say I need to work on it all the time."

"They?"

"Ah, you know," said Naruto with a small laugh, trying to cover up his slip, "everyone who's seen me train."

"Well, make sure you work hard," Teuchi finished. About ready to leave Teuchi turned to him. "Actually Naruto, I sent Ayame into the market to grab a few things but I thought she'd be back by now. Do you think you could just take a quick look for her and if you see her, send her back? I need her to help me prepare for the dinner rush later."

"Sure thing, Teuchi-san," said Naruto, running off in the direction of the outdoor stalls that sold produce. It didn't take long to find Ayame. Naruto quickly spotted her starting at a pretty kimono that was on display in a shop window, surrounded by other smaller pieces of girl clothing. She had a small bag in her hands that she was swinging to and fro while humming. She jumped when he put a hand on her shoulder.

"Ahh! Naruto-kun you scared me," she said, stepping back from him. "You should have called me."

"I did," he said quickly. "You didn't hear me. Anyway, what are you doing?"

"I was looking at this kimono," she said, pointing to the piece of clothing. "Isn't it beautiful? I mean its for a lady but I wish I had one like it too." Naruto chuckled slightly and Ayame glared at him. "What!"

"I'm sorry, Ayame-chan," he said apologetically. "I was just thinking this is the first time I've seen your feet."

"My...?" she looked down at her sandal clad feet in confusion. "Oh, because there's always a counter between us."

"Yeah," said Naruto cheerfully. Ayame just looked at him blankly.

"You're weird Naruto-kun, why are you looking at people's feet?" Naruto could feel Akane laughing in his head.

"Anyway, Teuchi-san told me to come find you," he said quickly. "He needs help."

"Ah I forgot!" said Ayame in shock, looking down at the bag in her hands. "Oh I have to run, thanks Naruto-kun!" She darted off, weaving through a number of people before vanishing all together.

"_Very smooth, Naruto,"_ said Shiro. He was clearly grinning.

"_Oh yeah, you'll be a lady killer at the academy for sure,"_ said Akane.

Naruto just ignored them as he usually did when they were teasing him, making his way out of the main throng of the marketplace. He still felt off about Mikoto for some reason, but there was nothing he could do about it so he decided to to train at one of the training grounds until dinner, if anything just to take his mind off of things. Suffice it to say, it worked well, darkness falling before he even realized what was going on.

"_I'm impressed, Naruto,"_ said Akane, completely serious. _"You were so focused it was like you were meditating almost. I know you can still only do the leaf exercise with a bunch of leaves but you've been keeping them held for much longer than before."_

"_It's all the work from the past two months,"_ said Shiro. _"You've accomplished a lot."_

"But I still don't really know how to _do_ anything," said Naruto glumly. He was heading back to Ichiraku, hoping that it would still be open. Akane just exchanged knowing looks with Shiro. It was alright if he thought that. Eventually he would understand . "Hey, look the lights are still on. Lucky!" He dashed under the awning to find Teuchi in the middle of putting things away. "Teuchi-san, are you still making ramen?"

"Naruto-kun!" said Teuchi in surprise. "It's late, were you training all day?" Naruto nodded. "Well you did find Ayame for me so I suppose I can throw something together with the leftovers, give me one minute. You caught me as I was closing up. We had a large rush today." As Naruto sat there, digging into the food Teuchi continued cleaning up. "So did you manage to find Mikoto-san?"

"No, I've just been training," said Naruto with a frown.

"I'll be honest, the past couple of days I've seen Mikoto-san she's looked fairly troubled," said Teuchi. "Maybe there's been trouble at home?" He grabbed a large stack of bowls and began to walk to the back. "Anyway Naruto, don't worry about paying for that one, I made it with leftovers so it's on the house. Just leave the bowl on the counter when you're done." He disappeared in to the back room.

Naruto finished after a few seconds and jumped down from the stool. Passing back through the awning he looked down the road in both directions. It was deserted, the occasional door having a lit lantern next to it, windows all glowing warmly. Of course, as when he was younger, seeing in almost no light had never been a problem for him. It wasn't like he needed any help seeing though. The full moon blazed onto the village below, unhindered by clouds.

"_Naruto, where are you going?" _asked Akane. _"That's not the way home."_

Naruto stopped moving. He had unconsciously started walking in the opposite direction of the apartments.

"_Where were you thinking of going?"_ asked Shiro. Of course, they could read his thoughts the moment he had them. _"The Uchiha compound? You're worried about Mikoto."_ What could he say. He _was_ worried about her. It didn't make sense. He had no real reason to be worried. But he still was.

"_Naruto, I don't know if you realize this,"_ said Akane, _"but it's late in the evening. It's rude to call on people this late."_

"I know but-" Naruto stared back at the apartments one last time then began running to where Mikoto had pointed her home on his map weeks before. "I'll be quick." Akane just sighed, looking to Shiro to say something but he just shrugged. They were passengers after all.

"_Alright, just be sure to apologize for bothering them," _she said after a second.

* * *

Ten minutes later Naruto found himself in a part of the village he had never entered before. The outside of the large area was bordered by a semi large wooden wall with a large opening as wide as the road as the main entrance. Naruto took a few steps inside looking around. It was really no different from outside the wall, though while he had seen a handful of people still milling about the village doing late evening business, he saw no one here. Just as strange, no lights came through any of the windows of the homes he could see from there. Something was off. He took a deep sniff of the air. There was something there, though it was faint. Almost like a coppery tang.

"_Blood,"_ said Shiro, his voice deadly serious. _"That's the smell of blood Naruto."_ They could pick up on his senses.

"_Something must have happened,"_ said Akane. Naruto walked into the compound, looking around carefully. He still couldn't see anyone. Nor did he make out any lights. Turning one corner he came face to face with a man against the corner of the building. He had a kunai knife buried up to the handle in his neck, pinning him to the wall. His eyes were open and lifeless. The wall behind him was smeared black with blood. Naruto instantly fell back with a cry for fright. Upon looking at the man a second time he immediately rolled over and emptied his dinner on the ground. He heaved until there was nothing left.

"_Naruto, are you alright?"_ asked Akane, wishing she could be there in the physical to hold him. It was inevitable for a ninja to encounter such a thing, but to see such a thing so suddenly, and still young as he was... Shiro said nothing, his eyes dark.

"Y-yeah," he coughed, voice shaky. Fortunately he hadn't gotten any vomit on his clothing. Naruto pushed himself to his feet, forcing himself past the murdered man. Unlike the streets he had been on so far, there were distinct signs of fighting and damage to the buildings. Seeing a number of kunai and shuriken in a nearby wall, he grabbed one, ready for anything. Of course, the weapon did nothing to shield him from the slaughtered people that littered the streets. Akane was talking softly but he didn't really hear much of it. Only one thing was keeping his focus in such a place. He had to find her. For all he knew she could be-

"_Don't think about that!" _shot Shiro suddenly, speaking for the first time. Naruto jumped at the tone of his voice, so adult like. _"You can't think about what might happen! It won't help you find her. Just focus on finding her as fast as possible, she may need your help. Keep your guard up as well. Whoever did this might still be around."_

"Right!" said Naruto through gritted teeth. He turned another corner to catch a glimpse of two people standing far down the road, one far shorter than the other. Suddenly the taller one moved off and the shorter one jumped after him, leaving the street deserted again. "I saw someone, but they're gone. This sucks! I don't know where Mikoto is, she could be anywhere!"

"_Naruto, Mikoto is the wife of the head of the Uchiha Clan," _said Akane quickly. _"She probably lives in the center of the area in a large home. Go that way!"_

"Alright," he said quietly, dashing down an alleyway. Within moments he came out on a wide road littered with bodies and damage. A dozen meters to his right was a building that looked a lot grander than the ones next to it. At this point there was no reason not to try it, otherwise he'd never get anywhere.

"_This looks good,"_ said Shiro, taking in what Naruto's eyes passed over. _"Wait! This must be it, look at that picture, by where the shoes are!"_ Naruto moved over to that area Shiro had pointed out to find a piece of furniture holding who knew what. The important part was that on its top was a small framed picture of Mikoto and her two sons. They looked young.

"Mikoto!" shouted Naruto, bursting through the home. It was quite large. He looked in every room he came across quickly before moving on to the next one. "Mikoto, where are you!" A side door took him back outside on the side of the home. There was a long wooden porch next to a yard with a stone path and small pond. At the other end of the porch was a set of double doors, the right one swinging slightly in the light wind. Beyond that, on the floor...

"MIKOTO!"

She was lying on her back with her eyes closed, a trickle of blood running from the corner of her mouth. There was a man face down on top of her, clearly dead. Naruto ran into the room at top speed, slipping in the splattered blood on the floor, crashing down next to her. He instantly got to his knees ignoring the pain. Tears were already leaking out of his eyes. This couldn't be real. _It couldn't be real!_

"Mikoto! Please Mikoto wake up!" he shouted, shaking her shoulders. She didn't move. He needed to get her out of there. Naruto grabbed the man's shoulders and tried to push him off of her but he was too heavy.

"_Naruto!" _shouted Akane, trying to get his attention. _"Naruto its-!"_

"Shut up!" he shouted, angry at the dead weight of the large man. "She's not dead! I have to help her!" Chakra pumped through his body like a sweet energy. He grabbed the man and heaved, rolling him off Mikoto in one breath, flopping to the side like a rag. Without him obstructing his view, Naruto could now see a huge red stain that covered her whole torso. "Mikoto wake up!" he shouted again. He gritted his teeth, canines gnashing in uncontainable fury, chakra still pumping through his body like fire. "Don't leave me here! I said WAKE UP!" He slammed his fists on her chest hard. Her body convulsed slightly, and she coughed, blood spraying up. Her eyes barely opened, falling on the blond haired, sear streaked face before her.

"_Oh my god, she's alive!" _ breathed Akane in complete disbelief.

"_Naruto we have to get her to the hospital right now!"_ shouted Shiro. Mikoto slowly opened her mouth, her voice coming out in a croak, words unable to form through the pain and the blood. Naruto listened to Shiro as he quickly told him how to get her onto his back, as he would be unable to carry her without killing her otherwise. Finally situated he felt his back become immediately wet with blood. His hands were completely covered with the stuff. He didn't even want to think what he must smell like. _"Naruto go now, just run and keep the chakra flowing as much as you can. It'll help you move."_ He ran outside straight at the wall. He knew the village very well now. The hospital was straight this way.

"_Naruto, the wall!"_ said Akane in alarm.

"I don't have time for doors!" he shouted, massing chakra in his feet and leaping clear over the wall, landing easily on the other side and immediately bursting forward with more speed than he had ever shown before. Mikoto's head was slumped over his right shoulder, leaning against the side of his own head, her mouth near his ear. His back was warm with blood. He even thought he could feel the faint flutter of her struggling heart. For a second he thought he heard her say his name. "Don't worry Mikoto. Just promise me you'll hang on and I promise I'll get you to the hospital in no time. Then we'll cook together when you're better." A wetness that didn't feel like blood touched his ear. His expression hardened, eyes narrowing, pushing for more speed... more strength.

_'Hang in there Mikoto!'_

* * *

Itachi Uchiha, looked back at the sudden huge amount of chakra coming from the direction of his now lost home. For a second he thought it was someone from the clan, but after a second he realized that the chakra didn't match any Uchiha. It was more than likely that someone had discovered the massacre. He was intrigued, almost enough to go check it out, but no. That was no longer important. He though back to the little brother he had left alive, the sole survivor of the Uchiha Clan. His beloved little brother.

"Grow strong, Sasuke. Strong enough to kill me."

* * *

**A/N:** And so we reach the end of the Uchiha Massacre. For the record, we know that Itachi left killing his parents for last, and so neither of them would have been 'dead' for long, especially since I had Naruto find them pretty much minutes seconds after Sasuke and Itachi left. Also, considering the love Itachi had for his brother I can also see him unconsciously holding back on at least his mother. Whatever you make of it, we'll just have to see what happens with her in the next chapter...

Also for the record, I'm not making Ayame a love interest. She's just a nice girl who is the first real girl that Naruto actually gets to know a bit and interacts with.

The academy starts in the next chapter, and with that comes some new interactions with some familiar faces. Oh they're all chibis it's gonna be great.

Anyway, please let me know what you thought. Your reviews are really helpful to me. If you're curious about any specific canon that I don't use or anything like that feel free to ask me about it and I'll be happy to answer your question. If it's really important I'll include a note in an update. Same thing goes for my impression of how chakra works, the academy, the council, or anything else that has structure.

And once again, it'll obviously take a little time to get to genin times but I will get there. It'll be great so stay tuned. Cheers!


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